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 BOUGHT WITH THE INCOME 
 FROM THE 
 
 SAGE ENDOWMENT FUND 
 
 THE GIFT OF 
 
 9tett?g Ql« Sage 
 
 1891 
 
 4'/«i*aL5^ ....■:.. :- nJMpf. 
 
EECOLLECTIOlvrS 
 
 PERSONS AND EVENTS, 
 
 IN THE CITY OF NEW YORK 
 
 SELECTIONS FROM HIS JOURNAL, 
 
 J. M. MATHEWS, D.D. 
 
 " Tour fathers, where are they ?'' 
 
 NEW YORK: 
 
 SHELDON AND COMPANY, 
 
 498 BROADWAY 
 
 M DCCC LXV. 
 
Entered according to Act of Congress, in the year 18fl5, 
 
 By J. M. MATHEWS, D. D., 
 
 In the Clerk's Office of the District Court of the United States for the Southern District 
 
 of New York. 
 
 C. A. ALVOKD, 8TEKE0TYPEK AM) PRINTER. 
 
DEDICATION. 
 
 New York, March 18tt, 1865. 
 
 To James Bookman, Esq. : 
 
 Mt deab Sir — Permit me to dedicate this volume 
 to you, as one of our oldest and most respected citi- 
 zens. In one sense it is especially a New York 
 book. It passes in review the rapid and unequalled 
 progress of the City in population, wealth, and every 
 ability for promoting the intellectual and moral wel- 
 fare of her own inhabitants and of the whole nation. 
 But if New York has acquired this distinctive emi- 
 nence, she is greatly indebted for it to her Mer- 
 chants, who have made her the commercial metrop- 
 olis both of the United States and of the Western 
 Continent. By a wise forecaste and a liberal policy, 
 she has drawn to hel"self from various countries 
 choice men, who have united with her native sons 
 in placing her among the first cities of the world for 
 the extent of her commerce and the high character 
 of those who conduct it. 
 
 Among this class of her citizens you have long 
 occupied a prominent position, and none of them 
 have contributed more freely and eflfectually than 
 
4 Dedication. 
 
 yourself to enlarge her resources, to provide for lier 
 future prosperity, and to estatlisli among us the 
 Institutions of religion, learning, and benevolence, 
 which should "be viewed as one of the great purposes 
 for which wealth is bestowed by the Griver of all 
 good. Believe me now, as always. 
 
 Tours with sincere respect and affection, 
 
 J. M. Mathews. 
 
PEEFAOE. 
 
 The last fifty or sixty years have been remarkably 
 prolific in men and events whicli have left their mark 
 on the history of the Church and of the world. As 
 it has pleased God to prolong my life until I have 
 reached the age of eighty years, I of course have 
 been more or less conversant with many of them ; 
 and it has been my practice to embrace early oppor- 
 tunities of referring to them in my Journal while 
 the circumstances were yet fresh in my memory, and 
 the lessons to be drawn from them were not only the 
 subjects of thought and reflection in my own mind, 
 but of conversation with others. This promptitude 
 I consider very important in giving a true repre- 
 sentation of transactions or events which may pass 
 iato history. Circumstances or incidents that may 
 appear as mere accidental accompaniments when re- 
 viewed after the lapse of years, often have an important 
 influence in giving shape and meaning to events at 
 the time of their occurrence. 
 
6 Preface. 
 
 Tlie practice of recording my own reflections in 
 connection witli the events winch gave rise to them, 
 may be viewed as imparting to a Journal something 
 of the character of a Common-Place Book. So be it. 
 I see no objection to such a combination. Every 
 man must know that some of his most valuable reflec- 
 tions are lost to him by forgetfulness. They may 
 have arisen from reading, from conversation, from 
 his own meditations, from some incident occurring, 
 perhaps, before his eyes, or, again, of which he may 
 have heard. But unless they are fastened in some 
 record, before, like riches of another kind, they 
 "make themselves wings and fly away," they may 
 soon be lost beyond recovery. Mind is always busy, 
 and if we take pains to treasure up what it furnishes 
 from time to time, and which is worth preserving 
 whUe yet in its freshness, we may soon acquire a 
 store of iatellectual materials which wOl be of great 
 value to us in after times. I make this suggestion to 
 my younger brethren in the ministry, in the hope 
 that it may be of use to them. They may find in 
 thoughts thus preserved what may be of great im- 
 portance to them when preparing for the pulpit or 
 other public services. So I have found it in my own 
 experience. Some of these reflections or observations 
 
Peeface. 7 
 
 first ■written in my Journal, I have already used in 
 various discourses or on other public occasions: 
 but when referring to them in the following pages, 
 I have still retained them in their original connection, 
 although, as I have elsewhere said, at the risk of 
 being charged with repeating myself. 
 
 It may be thought that the style of writing in some 
 of the articles is too familiar, especially when I am 
 giving biographical sketches, or rehearsing conversa- 
 tions which have taken place between others and 
 myself. But a Journal should be Journal-like. It 
 derives much of its value from giving things, both in 
 manner and matter, just as they occurred. Men, in 
 their social intercourse with each other, do not 
 speak in the exact and careful style in which they 
 would write a sermon on some important doctrine in 
 theology, or would prepare an essay o» some intri- 
 cate question in metaphysics. They let out their 
 thoughts and feelings very much as they arise ; and 
 although a record of such matters may be viewed by 
 some as too colloquial, to others it may be not the 
 less interesting because familiar and natural. For 
 myself, I may say I have never enjoyed intercourse 
 with intelligent and well-known men more than 
 
8 Preface. 
 
 when they have entirely released their minds from 
 all restraint, and poured forth their thoughts and 
 sentiments with a freedom that cares not for criticism, 
 and does not even think of it. 
 
 My habitual and free association with brethren of 
 other denominations may have imparted a Catholic 
 spirit and tone to the following pages, which, I hope, 
 will not render them less acceptable. The majority 
 of our public Institutions with which I have been 
 connected have been much of this character; and 
 various circumstances have combined to render my 
 social intercourse unusually intimate with men who 
 were one in spirit, though not in name, with myself. 
 While Dr., afterwards Bishop, Wainwright remained 
 Kector of Grace Church, we were not only near 
 neighbors — our dwellings being so contiguous that we 
 might have spoken to each other from our windows — 
 but our respective parishioners were so connected 
 with each other by domestic as well as other ties, 
 that very few days passed in which we had not the 
 opportunity of meeting. He was not only the gentle- 
 man and Christian, but a warm-hearted friend, and 
 I gladly take this fitting occasion of expressing my 
 cordial regard for his memory. 
 
Preface. 9 
 
 In tlie present condition of the country, I could 
 not keep a Journal entirely silent as to her present 
 trials and her perils in the future. For years have I 
 felt strong apprehensions for her -welfare. Not that 
 I have doubted the strength of the Government to 
 maintain the unity and iutegrity of the nation. My 
 fears have arisen from that habitual forgetfulness of 
 Grod, and that uncurbed spirit of self-exaltation 
 which seemed to pervade all ranks, rulers and ruled. 
 If a nation so favored as ourselves "sacrifice to their 
 net and burn incense to their own drag," a rebuke 
 must follow, and all the worse for them if they refuse 
 to hear it. The thought has often impressed me 
 deeply and painfully, and this may account for the 
 manner in which I have dwelt upon it in the latter 
 part of the present volume. Would to God that 
 our people might be enabled to see their sin in the 
 punishment we are now suffering, and rightly hum- 
 ble themselves before Him while we feel the rod of 
 His chastisement. 
 
 In view of the Republic of France, short-lived as 
 it was, and so productive of misery to the nation 
 wMle it lasted, an eloquent French statesman has 
 remarked, "A Republic of men without God is 
 quickly stranded. When you terrify it, it bends ; 
 
10 Preface. 
 
 if you would buy it, it sells itself. The liberator of 
 America died confiding to Grod the liberty of the 
 people, and his own soul." 
 
 Some of the following extracts have from time to 
 time appeared in the daily and weekly journals, and 
 the attention paid to them by readers may be one 
 reason which inclined me to comply with the request 
 that I would publish enough of them to make a 
 volume. I had long contemplated leaving my papers 
 to a brother clergyman, if he should survive me, to 
 make such use of them as he might see fit in throw- 
 ing light upon events and characters in the last half- 
 century. It was not untU he joined with others that 
 I consented to publish the following selections. I can- 
 not now decide how far I may hereafter go in making 
 use of the ample materials in hand for a more elabo- 
 rate and connected history of my life. The work, if 
 done at aU, would perhaps be better done by another. 
 It is somewhat diflScult to write a faithful autobiog- 
 raphy that shall be free from all bias in favor of men 
 or measures wherewith the writer may himself be more 
 or less identified. And yet there are reasons which 
 serve to show that a man can best teU his own story. 
 Whatever may be my decision, I desire to leave 
 
Preface. 11 
 
 the resTiIt in the hands of Him who has appointed 
 both "the measure of my days" and the nature and 
 amount of my labors in His service. Wlienever He 
 sees fit to call me away from earth and time, I would 
 esteem it a privilege to be found "with the harness 
 on," still doing what I may for Him and His cause 
 who has made "goodness and mercy to follow me all 
 the days of my life." 
 
CONTENTS. 
 
 CHAPTER I. 
 
 Clergy in New York in 1810 — Livingston, Rodgers, Moore, 
 Abeel, Hobart, Miller, McLeod, Mason. Page 17 
 
 CHAPTER H. 
 
 Dangers of College Life — Instances showing the Fatal Results 
 of Early Dissipation — Responsibility of College Officers as to the 
 Morals of Youth under their care — Happy Influence of the Society 
 of Ladies on the Minds as well as the Manners of Young Men. 
 
 Page 30 
 
 CHAPTER m. 
 
 Robert Fulton — His Appearance and Manner — His Sensitive- 
 ness under the Indifference manifested toward him in France and 
 England — His First Voyage by Steam from New York to Al- 
 bany — His Anxiety during the Voyage — Account of the first Pe- 
 cuniary Acknowledgment he Received for his Services — The 
 Trials he Endured from Vexatious Opposition — Mr. Emmet's 
 Eloquent Address when Pleading his Cause before the Legislature 
 — Professor Morse and the Electric Telegraph. Page 41 
 
 CHAPTER IV. 
 
 An Evening with Dr. Mason — His Exuberance of Spirits — 
 Periods of Depression — Anecdotes respecting Gouverneur Morris, 
 Bishop Moore, Dr. Livingston, Dr. Bissett, Dr. Witherspoon, Ben- 
 jamin Franklin, Mr. Whitfield — Comparison of Whitfield with 
 Mason — Chief Point of Difference between the two as Preachers 
 — Dr. Mason's Talent as an Expositor. Page 54 
 
1-i Contents. 
 
 CHAPTER V. 
 
 De Witt Clinton, Stephen Van Rensselaer, James Kent, Abra- 
 ham Van Vechten — Sketches of their Character and Appearance 
 — Conversation on Religious Subjects — Causes which have con- 
 tributed to Banish Infidelity from the Minds of Public Men — 
 (.>pinions respecting Calvin — Origin of Civil Freedom, or Govern- 
 ment by Representation, found in the Bible. Page 67 
 
 CHAPTER VI. 
 
 Interview with Colonel Aaron Burr — Generally Avoided by his 
 Former Acquaintances after his Return from Europe — Interest felt 
 on his behalf on account of his Religious Parentage — His CoUo- 
 (jui.al Powers — His Sensibility at the Remembrance of his Pa- 
 rents — Sorrow over the Death of his Daughter — His Resentment 
 at feeling himself so Generally Proscribed — His Despondency as 
 to himself^His Death. Page 86 
 
 CHAPTER VII. 
 
 Colonel Henry Rutgers — His Character — His Devotion to the 
 Cause of the Country in the American Revolution — His Liberality 
 to the Cause of Religion — Striking Instance Showing his Wise 
 Judgment in Deeds of Benevolence — Duty of our Merchants and 
 others to Young Men in their Employ. Page 103 
 
 CHAPTER VIII. 
 
 Death of John Quincy Adams — Conspicuous Features in his 
 Character — His Undeviating Adherence to what he Conceived to 
 lie Right, Exemplified in his Appointments to Office while Presi- 
 dent of the United States, also while our Minister at the Court 
 of the Netherlands — His Great Respect for the Memory of his 
 ilother — His Opinions of a Mother's Influence on the Character 
 of Distinguished Men — Importance of the Subject — How Illus- 
 trated in History, both Sacred and Profane — Susceptibility of 
 Earlv Childhood to a Mother's Influence. Paste 116 
 
Contexts. 15 
 
 CHAPTER IX. 
 
 Era of Bible Societies — Rev. Mr. Charles, of Bala — Origin of 
 the British and Foreign Bible Society — Honorable Elias Boudinot 
 — Convention to Form the American Bible Society — Address of 
 the Convention to the Public — Multiplication of the Scriptures by 
 Means of Bible Societies — The Bible the First Book Printed with 
 Types — Improvement in the Art of Printing within the last Fifty 
 Years — Superiority of the English Translation of the Bible — Re- 
 sponsibility of England and America for the spread of Christianity 
 and Civilization. Page 131 
 
 CHAPTER X. 
 
 Declension in Religion After the Days of Edwards and Whit- 
 field — Views of Dr. Green and Bishop Meade — Apathy Prevailing 
 as to Foreign Missions — Rise of the A. B. C. F. M. — Subsequent 
 Revival of Religion in the Churches — New York Missionary So- 
 ciety — Influence of Dr. Morrison in Awakening Sympathy for the 
 Heathen — Increasing Activity of the Missionary Spirit — Respon- 
 sibility of the American Churches in Evangelizing the Pagan 
 World — Great Importance of Institutions for the Special Training 
 of Foreign Missionaries. Page 157 
 
 CHAPTER XL 
 
 Importance of the Medical Profession in Foreign Missions — Our 
 Lord's Miracles of Healing, as Signs of His Coming — Luke, the 
 " Beloved Physician," as a Companion and Aid to Paul — Dangers 
 in the way of Medical Students — Duty of Christians in Reference 
 to them — ^Description of an Accomplished and Successful Physi- 
 cian. Page 178 
 
 CHAPTER XIL 
 
 University of the City of New York — Considerations which Led 
 to the Establishment of it— Literary Convention — Address at its 
 Opening — Inauguration of Professors — Addresses on the Occasion 
 — Erection of the University Building — Grant from the Legisla- 
 ture — ^Resio-nation of the Chancellorship — Action of the Council 
 
16 Contents. 
 
 on the Occasion — Review of Leading and Distinguishing Features 
 of the University — Advantages of New York as the Site of such 
 an Institution — Dangers to Public Men from Excessive Labors. 
 
 Page 189 
 
 CHAPTER Xin. 
 
 Changes in New York — Population — Public Places — Public 
 Buildings — Public Men — Churches — Removal of Churches from 
 the First Six Wards — Inadequate Supply of Churches for the 
 whole City — Influence of Religion in Cities upon the Country — 
 Special Duties and Responsibilities of Christians in such a City as 
 New York. Page 259 
 
 CHAPTER XIV. 
 
 Interview between Rev. Dr. Rodgers and General Hamilton — 
 Convention to Frame the Constitution of the United States — 
 Perplexity attending their Deliberations — Erroneous Statement 
 of their Proceedings on Dr. Franklin's Motion to Appoint a 
 Chaplain — True Account in the Madison Papers — Forgetfulness of 
 God, with Self-Exaltation, a Prevalent Sin of the Nation — The Sin 
 Rebuked in the Present National Troubles — State Rights and 
 Federal Sovereignty as Exhibited in the Letters of General Wash- 
 ington — Moral Considerations which should Contribute to the 
 Future Peace and Harmony of the Nation. Page 310 
 
RECOLLECTIONS OF PERSONS AND EVENTS. 
 
 CHAPTER I. 
 
 Clergy of Nkw York in 1810. — Livixgstos, Rodgebs, Mooue, 
 Abeel, Hobart, Miller, McLeod, Mason. 
 
 The early part of the present century found 
 the pulpit of New York supplied Avith a ministry 
 of eminent talent and great worth of character. 
 Almost every Denomination had its share. 
 
 In the Dutch Church there was Rev. Dr. 
 
 Livingston. He was in the fullest sense a man 
 
 of the Old School, not only in doctrine, but in 
 
 manners, in ■ mode of life, and even in dress. 
 
 He was born in 1746, and retained to the last 
 
 much of the costume and many of the habits 
 
 which belonged to the clergy in his early days. 
 
 I have a distinct recollection of his appearance 
 
 as he walked our streets, erect as a grenadier 
 
 on parade, his gold headed cane carried upright 
 2 
 
18 Recollections of 
 
 before him, like the mace of a magistrate, his 
 spacious and broad brimmed hat surmounting the 
 white wig which spread its curls upon his shoul- 
 ders, the ample square skirts of his coat falling 
 below his knees, and his shoe-buckles glittering 
 on his feet as though the dust did not dare to 
 soil them. Such a figure was not to be pass- 
 ed by without attention and reverence. 
 
 In politeness of manners he had no superior; 
 indeed he carried its foi-ms to the extreme limit. 
 He would ahvays have the last bow to his ac- 
 quaintances, whether parting fi'om them at his 
 own house or at theirs. In a playful humor some 
 of his clerical brethren occasionally tried how 
 far the good Doctor Avould carry this habit ; 
 but they invariably had to give up the struggle, 
 for let them follow the polite old gentleman far 
 as they would, and bowing at every step, he 
 would still have the last bow. 
 
 He was as much unlike others in the pulpit 
 as in the street or drawing-room. While the 
 essential doctrines of the Gospel that know no 
 change, formed the great staple of his discourses, 
 he enunciated them in a manner that constaatly 
 reminded you of generations gone by ; of the fa-. 
 
Persons and Events. 19 
 
 thers whose works you had read, but whose 
 faces you had never seen. He seemed in no way 
 inclined to belong to the present generation. 
 Perhaps it was one of his errors that he thought 
 the world was groAving small, losing in stature 
 very fast. But whatever may have been his 
 error in this respect, he was eminently a good 
 man, a sound impressive minister of the Gospel ; 
 and had been honored to act an important part 
 in healing; the breaches which at one time 
 threatened to overthrow the Reformed Dutch 
 Church in this country. 
 
 Dr. J. N. Abeel belonged to the same de- 
 nomination. It was to him that the Dutch 
 Church chiefly looked at this time as an efficient 
 leader; and their confidence was well deserved. 
 Dr. Abeel was a man of sound judgment, calm 
 temper, gentle manners; and, as a preacher, he 
 was distinguished for the clearness of his illus- 
 trations, especially when handling the experimen- 
 tal truths of Christianity. He had also a most 
 happy faculty of reaching the hearts of young 
 men. The state of the Church, when he was 
 in his prime, was such that his labors were not 
 only "more abundant," but so excessive that his 
 
20 Recollections of 
 
 strength failed, and he finished his course at a 
 comparatively early age, leaving a wide breach 
 in the ministry of this city. All denominar 
 tions mourned his death, for the gentleness of 
 his spirit and the usefulness of his services had 
 endeared him to all. 
 
 In the Episcopal Church, the grave and dig- 
 nified, yet gentle manners of Bishop Benjamin 
 Moore, well befitted his station as the head of 
 the clergy in his diocese. I frequently heard 
 him preach, but was always most pleased with 
 him when he "read the Prayers." He was 
 eminently a devout man ; and the rich, clear, 
 solemn tones of his voice gave great effect to 
 the service. He was a ready and able advo- 
 cate of whatever formed the distinctive features 
 of his own denomination ; and yet there was a 
 spirit of comity and frankness in his controver- 
 sial writings that did him honor. Controversy, 
 hoAvever, was a field for which he had little 
 taste. He was a man of peace, and preferred 
 to labor where he found none to gainsay or 
 question his teachings. 
 
 Dr. Hobart, who afterwards succeeded him 
 in the Bishopric, and who was now rising rapid- 
 
Persons and Events. 21 
 
 ly in the esteem of the denomination, was a 
 man of a different temperament. He possessed 
 a quick and vivacious mind; vras ardent and 
 fixed in his purposes, and indefatigable in his 
 labors. Generally he had some controversy on 
 hand, and I have often jested with him on his be- 
 ing such a man of war jfrom his youth up. But 
 although he was so often in the field as a po- 
 lemic, no one who knew him could question the 
 honesty of his motives, or the generosity of his 
 heart. I have no doubt that his zeal and ac- 
 tivity were among the causes which contributed 
 to awaken the Episcopal Church to that laudable 
 spirit of active benevolence that now distinguish- 
 es her. 
 
 Dr. Rodgers was the Simeon of the Presby- 
 terian Church. He had seen the salvation of 
 the Lord, and was waiting to depart in peace. 
 The congregations to which he had long minis- 
 tered were under the care of men in whom he 
 had full confidence. 
 
 Dr. Samuel Miller was distinguished for the 
 completeness of his ministerial character. Al- 
 though he had not the eloquence nor the force 
 of some others, his sermons were always evangel- 
 
22 Recollections of 
 
 ical, chaste, and well finished. His industry 
 and habits of study rendered him more and 
 more extensively a man of learning, so that few 
 Divines stood before him in this respect, even 
 before he took his place as Professor at Princeton ; 
 and his finished manners as a gentleman, won 
 his way with acceptance in every society where 
 he wished to enter, or aimed to be useful. 
 
 Dr. Romeyn had just come to the city. He 
 was an animated, earnest man in the pulpit; 
 and for several years after he was settled in 
 New York, his ministry was remarkably success- 
 ful. 
 
 But of the Presbj'terian ministers, there are 
 two yet to be noticed, who were men of pre-em- 
 ment ability and yet widely different from each 
 other, — Drs. McLeod and Mason. 
 
 Dr. McLeod was distinguished for massive 
 strength. At the first glance you saw a Her- 
 cules before you. Not that he was destitute 
 of the lighter qualities of the mind. His wit 
 was ready, generally playful, and sometimes ex- 
 ceedingly caustic. He could, when he pleased, 
 make his adversaries so ludicrous, as to oblige 
 them to laugh at themselves. But this was 
 
Persons and Events. 23 
 
 not often liis choice when engaged in controver- 
 sy. He loved to be serious when handling se- 
 rious subjects, and his mind was habitually bent 
 on the busmess of his profession as a minister 
 of the Gospel. Theology was his study, the 
 pursuit of his life; and he was as thoroughly 
 a master in it, as I have ever seen. His jjow- 
 er of analysis and discrimination made every 
 thing plain, whether in doctrinal, practical, or 
 exj)erimental Christianity. His publications are 
 still extensively read, both at home and abroad. 
 But, however much relished as they api)ear from 
 the press, his discourses made their deepest im- 
 pression when heard from the pulpit. In his 
 preaching he was a fair type of what is de- 
 scribed as the impassioned strength of John 
 Knox. He usually began in a moderate tone 
 and manner; but before he or his hearers 
 seemed to be aware of it, he Avas pouring forth 
 a stream of eloquence mth the thunder and 
 power of a cataract. I frequently went to 
 hear him ; and at times, he has seemed not so 
 much as if he would spring out of the pulpit, 
 as if he would come down upon us, bringing 
 pulpit and all with him. He belonged to that 
 
24 Recollections of 
 
 branch of the Presbyterian Church called the 
 Covenanters, or Reformed Presbyterian; and 
 while he was the leading star in his own imme- 
 diate denomination, his worth and ability were 
 acknowledged and respected throughout the 
 whole Christian community. 
 
 Of Dr. Mason I can speak from an intimate 
 knowledge of the man. I was brought up at 
 the feet of Gamaliel, and knew him well ; per- 
 haps none knew him better. For many years 
 not a day passed that we did not meet. There 
 was nothing belonging to him, whether in body 
 or mind, which could be called small or com- 
 mon. He was formed on a magnificent scale, 
 and was every inch a man. When he acted, 
 spoke, or even looked, he left his mark. His 
 temperament was ardent. Like Owen, Hall,* 
 Scott, and others of that stamp, he had sea- 
 
 *It must have been a rare treat to see these two men, Mason 
 and Hall, together. Dr. Mason has often taken occasion to re- 
 late to me incidents that occurred in their intercourse. Though 
 fully agreed on the essentials of religion, there were some things on 
 which they differed. Dr. Mason was a most enthusiastic admirer 
 of Dr. John Owen's writings. Mr. Hall did not esteem them so 
 highly. In their conversation on the merits of the venerable old 
 non-conformist. Dr. Mason named one thing after another which 
 he considered proofs of surpassing learning and ability ; but Mr. 
 
Peksons and Events. 25 
 
 sons of spiritual despondency; and then again 
 such times of elevation and joy, that whether 
 "in the body or out of the body," he could 
 scarcely tell. In social intercourse, he was a 
 great favorite on account of his gentlemanly 
 manners, his kindness of heart, his abundance of 
 anecdote, his buoyant spirits, and the flexibility 
 of his temper to meet all tastes and all circum- 
 stances. By universal consent of all denomina- 
 tions, he had no superior in the richness and 
 power of his eloquence. His imagination was 
 lofty, and yet carefully trained; his language 
 choice, and yet exuberant; his conceptions clear, 
 distinct, and yet flowing in a current as if he 
 could not restrain them; and his bursts of feel- 
 ing at times so overpowering that I' have seen 
 whole assemblies comprising rich and poor, 
 learned and unlearned, bowed down before him 
 with one impulse, till there was scarce a dry eye 
 to be seen. 
 
 Hall still demurred. At length Dr. Mason observed, " You will at 
 least allow that he goes deep into his subject." "Yes," replied Mr. 
 Hall, "he goes down deep, and comes up muddy.'' Dr. Mason 
 never repeated this reply without a hearty laugh over its aptness 
 and pungency, and would conclude his notice of their interviews 
 with the declaration — ''After all, Mr. Hall is among the greatest 
 of the giant minds of England." Par nobile fratrum. 
 
26 Recollections of 
 
 The public will always make heavy drafts on 
 the time and strength of such a man, and will 
 kill him with labor before his time comes, if he 
 will let them do it. Dr. Mason's willing and 
 generous spirit undertook too much for his 
 strength, great as it was. While he still retain- 
 ed his pastoral relations to his Church, he be- 
 came Professor of Theology in the Seminary he 
 founded, Provost of Columbia College, besides 
 being called upon to take a leading part in the 
 great movements for the spread of religion 
 through Bible Societies, and other kindred insti- 
 tutions. He broke down at an age when other 
 men are in the height of their usefulness. But 
 the ruins had a grandeur which reminded us of 
 what the man had been when he was himself. 
 
 In looking back on the characters of such 
 men as Drs. Mason, McLeod, and others of 
 their day and spirit, we see how wisely their 
 gifts were adapted to the wants of their times 
 and their generation. They were "sons of 
 thunder." They were not only great men, but 
 much of their greatness lay in their enercry of 
 purpose, their power to rouse and excite. This 
 was what the Churches then around them most 
 
Persons and Events. 27 
 
 needed in their leaders. The age of Mission- 
 ary Societies, of Bible and Tract Societies, was 
 now to be inaugurated. The time had come 
 when the command, " Go ye into all the world 
 and preach the Gospel to every creature," was 
 to take a new and fresh hold on the conscience 
 of Christians ; and they needed " sons of thun 
 der" to wake them up to a sense of their duty. 
 They found what they so much required in 
 these ardent and accomplished ministers of the 
 Gospel. True, they were not without their 
 faults; and where can we find men that are free 
 from faults? "Let him that is without sin first 
 cast a stone." Indeed, great men often have gi'eat 
 faults. There is nothing about them on a small 
 scale. Every thing that belongs to the man will 
 partake, in some degree, of his own greatness. 
 The sun has its spots, and spots so large that 
 they would extinguish a lesser luminaiy. Such 
 seems to be the ordering of Providence in this 
 world, and perhaps with the design of so putting a 
 stain on human glory as to enforce his own com- 
 mand: "Cease from man, whose breath is in his 
 nostrils; for wherein is he to be accounted of?" 
 Prune down the greatest of men till you have 
 
28 Recollections of 
 
 made him faultless, and you will make Lim 
 tame. You may have a sheet of paper, per- 
 fectly white, and without a mark upon it. But 
 though it be free from a blot, it is, after all, 
 blank paper. So it is with men, and in the 
 affairs of life. 
 
 Pity, pity, that the World and the Church 
 do not understand and remember this rightly. 
 It would render them more just, and more kind 
 and charitable to those who spend their vigorous 
 strength in doing good to those who too often 
 repay them with reproach and injury. 
 
 We may well refer to it as a cause of grat- 
 itude to the great Head of the Church, that 
 when these illustrious men, these Elijahs were 
 carried up into heaven, they left their mantle 
 behind them. They were succeeded by a min- 
 istry well adapted to preserve and strengthen 
 the spirit in oar churches which had been awa- 
 kened chiefly by their instrumentality. Some 
 of these brethren still survive. Some have 
 rested from their labors, and their works follow 
 them. The names of McMurray, Milnor, Wain- 
 wright, Alexander, Knox and others, their con- 
 temporaries and compeers, are embalmed in the 
 
Persons and Events. 29 
 
 memory of thousands among us as men of sound 
 judgment, lofty purpose, and untiring zeal, not 
 only in their respective churches, but in those 
 Institutions of enlarged benevolence vphich have 
 been formed for the spread of truth and inteEi- 
 gence, not only through our land but through 
 the world. 
 
30 Recollections of 
 
 CHAPTEE II. 
 
 Dangers of College Life. — Instances showing the Fatal 
 Results of Earlv Dissipation. — Responsibility of College 
 Officers as to the Morals of Youth under their care. — 
 Happv Influence of tue Society of Ladies on the Minds 
 AS well as the Manners op Young Men. 
 
 In May, 1813, I met with a painful occur- 
 rence. I was going down Broadway near the 
 Battery, and observed a man before me leaning 
 against a lamp-post, whose clothes showed that 
 he had been taken out of the gutter. Our eyes 
 met as I approached him, and I saw it was my 
 
 former class-mate in colleo-e, S T . 
 
 Though greatly intoxicated, he recognized me, 
 and turned away his face as I passed him. I 
 could not leave him as he was ; and turned 
 back to see what I could do for him. When I 
 called him by name, he burst into tears, and in 
 a low tone of voice begged me not to degrade 
 myself by speaking to him in the street. I in- 
 sisted, however on taking him home with me 
 notwithstanding his squalid appearance; where, 
 
Persons and Events. 31 
 
 after a few hours sleep, he told me his melan- 
 choly story. His intemperance had led his rela- 
 tives to cast him off; and he was then on his 
 way to Philadelphia to seek employment from a 
 gentleman with whom, in his better days, he had 
 formed an acquaintance at Saratoga. His chance, 
 he remarked, was very slender; but it was all 
 that remained to him, and he was determined to 
 try it. He did try it, but without success. I 
 never heard of him afterwards, and fear he died 
 by his own hand. 
 
 He told me what I well knew, that his bad 
 habits were contracted while at college. He was 
 only one out of many of my fellow students, 
 who had fallen victims to the temptations of a 
 college life. In those days, there were no Tem- 
 perance Societies; and temperance itself was lit- 
 tle understood, and still less regarded. Hot sup- 
 pers, midnight carousals, were too frequent with 
 us, and sowed the seeds of a vice that in a few 
 years carried off a fearful proportion of our num- 
 ber to an untimely grave. What a vereck of 
 life and high talent do I see when I look back! 
 
 Brilliant and generous-hearted J B ! 
 
 He seemed to know every thing as if by intui- 
 
32 Recollections of 
 
 tion. An hour at study was quite as sufficient 
 for Mm, as a day for others; and yet averse as 
 he was to protracted or continued labor, no per- 
 plexed class-mate ever sought his aid in vain. 
 He would sit down beside the slowest and dull- 
 est of them all, and would somehow contrive to 
 work the lesson or recitation into their minds, 
 before he would quit them; and in the exube- 
 rance of his spirits, he would laugh at his 
 own patience when the work was done. It 
 might be the Classics, or Mathematics, or Ethics; 
 every thing seemed to come to him without effort. 
 He had a voice, too, of great compass and ring- 
 ing tone, that made him one of the first among 
 speakers; and all was accompanied with that 
 natural ease and gracefulness of manner, that 
 won upon you irresistibly. With such talents, 
 and with family connections, including some of 
 the most distinguished and influential men in 
 the State, he seemed to have before him the 
 prospect of a most brilliant career in public life. 
 His ambition lay in that direction. How often 
 has he said to me that he would never be sat- 
 isfied until he had become a leader in the 
 councils of the nation; and much did I hope 
 
Persons and Events. 33 
 
 that his high aim would tend to save him from 
 the habit that had begun to grow upon him. 
 But, no. He had scarcely gained admission to 
 the bar, Avhen he sank down into a sot, and 
 died a dishonored death in the mornins; of his 
 life. I saw him when he was very low in his 
 misery. He knew all, and confessed all. " I 
 have seen the last of my happy days," he said, 
 "the cloud that is over me will never be scat- 
 tered. My heart is worse than broken. It 
 has been made a burnt oflfering to the Demon 
 of Brandy." I well remember the scalding tear 
 and the quivering voice with which he made 
 the confession. 
 
 E H was another of my class-mates. 
 
 He seemed to live in a constant gale of glad- 
 ness. His wit was sparkling, but always good- 
 natured. He had a wonderful talent for mim- 
 icry. He could imitate every thing animate or 
 inanimate. He was not a good scholar; but 
 even when his deficiencies were most glaring, he 
 had some humorous remark respecting his studies 
 or himself, which not only disarmed the Profes- 
 sor of all angry feeling, but seemed also to ren- 
 der him equally a favorite with teachers and 
 
34 Recollections of 
 
 students. He, too, yielded to the temptation ; 
 became so degraded and lost that he was at 
 times taken to the watch-house in the dead of 
 night, and in a few years was hidden in his 
 grave. I have been told, that during the lat- 
 ter part of his life, all that milk of human kind- 
 ness that so distinguished his earlier years, 
 seemed to be changed into the very gall of misan- 
 thropy. He boasted, in his despair, that he 
 would not only "curse God and die;" but that 
 with his last breath, he would "curse both God 
 and man." 
 
 And there was my affectionate J N . 
 
 A nobler or a warmer heart can seldom, if ever, 
 be given to man. Such was o\u' mutual attach- 
 ment that he had well nigh changed the whole 
 course and business of my life. His father was 
 at this time an eminent merchant in one of our 
 Eastern cities. He was to enter the counting- 
 house, when he left college, and most earnest 
 were his entreaties that I would accompany him. 
 To render the temptation the stronger, his father 
 made every proposition that propriety would al- 
 low, as he was anxious that J should be 
 
 gratified. I had almost yielded. Brilliant 
 
Persons and Events. 35 
 
 prospects in the world, and ardent personal at- 
 tachment, at times, had very great influence upon 
 my mind, before I finally decided. But reflec- 
 tion restored me to my purpose. Little as I 
 then understood of what the ministry of the 
 Gospel is, or of what it requires, I had for years 
 kept my view fixed on it as my profession; and 
 
 in the end, I told my friend J that I could 
 
 not abandon it. He was grieved, though not 
 displeased; and we parted, he to "his merchan- 
 dise," and I to my studies, with vows of an at- 
 tachment that no diversity of pursuit should be 
 allowed to extinguish or abate. 
 
 For years we embraced every opportunity of 
 meeting. Our correspondence was constant and 
 more than cordial. I have sometimes thought 
 it breathed the spirit of David and Jonathan; 
 and so it continued until he became a junior 
 partner in his father's "House." His letters 
 about that time became less frequent, and he 
 pleaded, in apology, the pressure of business. But 
 they also lost their former freedom. There was 
 constraint, with an effort to conceal it. I could 
 not but be alarmed. I- knew " the sin that 
 easily beset him," and had often implored him to 
 
36 Recollections of 
 
 be on his guard. I wrote to him frankly what 
 I feared. He immediately, and in a manner 
 much like his former self, thanked me for my 
 candor, but assured me that he was safe against 
 the temptation respecting which I was anxious. 
 About the same time he was married to a lovely 
 woman, and his letters on that subject were so 
 like those of former days, that I hoped for the 
 best. He was most happy in his choice, and 
 as he was now forming new relations in life, 
 and with new sources of enjoyment opening to 
 him, I pressed on him the importance of in- 
 creased vigilance, and a total withdrawal from 
 occasions of temptation. 
 
 But although for a time he seemed to feel 
 what he owed to his family, to himself, and to 
 his Maker, the habit came back upon him. 
 Before the end of four years from his marriage, 
 his conduct to his wife had become so violent, 
 that she had to return with her two little chil- 
 dren to her father's house; after which he soon 
 became a raving madman, and died in the 
 Asylum for the Insane, — his widow soon after 
 dying the victim of a broken heart, leaving their 
 babes orphans. 
 
Persons and Events. 37 
 
 These are sad, sad pictures. And yet they 
 are selections taken at random from a countless 
 group. Could I unfold the roll which would 
 tell of all the evil that intemperance in our Col- 
 leges has produced, we should find "it written 
 within and without;" and "the writing therein, 
 lamentation, and mourning, and woe." I have 
 put these two or three examples on record, in 
 order to show how little this Demon can be con- 
 trolled by considerations of a high ambition, or 
 of domestic ties; or, indeed, by any thing else, 
 except that sovereign, omnipotent grace of God, 
 which, alas ! is so seldom sought by the once in- 
 temperate drinker. " O my soul, come not thou 
 into their secret : unto their assembly, mine hon- 
 or, be not thou united." Would to God that I 
 could engi'ave upon the heart of every one, old 
 and young, the graphic warning of Solomon: 
 "Look not thou upon the wine when it is red, 
 when it giveth his color in the cup, when it mov- 
 eth itself aright. At the last it biteth like a 
 serpent, and stingeth like an adder. Yea, thou 
 shalt be as he that lieth down in the midst of the 
 sea, or as he that lieth upon the top of a mast." 
 Since the times to which I refer, our Colleges 
 
38 Recollections of 
 
 have seen better days; but some of them should 
 be still further improved iu the exercise of a 
 moral influence upon students. The nature of 
 their trust throws upon them a most solemn re- 
 sponsibility. From the age of fifteen to twenty- 
 one, the period of life when most of our youth 
 are pursuing academical or professional education, 
 the mind is like melted wax, easily impressed, 
 and generally assumes the features for good or 
 evil which distinguish it in after-days. Mere 
 intellectual training is far from the whole of a 
 teacher's duty. The development and cultivation 
 of right principles of conduct, and a watchful 
 guardianship against the sources of contamination, 
 are the still higher and more sacred duties of 
 our College ojEcers towards the young men un- 
 der their care. The task of such a parental 
 government may be rendered far from difficult 
 or unpleasant. There is a warmth in the 
 youthful heart which inclines it to embrace the 
 counsels of wisdom, when given in a spirit of 
 kindness and affection. But in too many in- 
 stances, instead of drawing a young man with 
 the cords of love, he is made to feel only the 
 rod of stern authority; and when a smile might 
 
Persons and Events. 39 
 
 have saved Mm, the frown injures, perhaps de- 
 stroys him, , Hand inexpertus loqv/yr. 
 
 I ought not to close this reference to the dan- 
 gers that beset my earlier years, without men- 
 tioning very distinctly one great means of my 
 preservation and safety. The society of ladies 
 has done much for me all my life long; and it 
 was the salutary, softening influence of such as- 
 sociations that,- with God's blessing, restrained 
 me from many an excess into which I might 
 otherwise have been led while receiving my ed- 
 ucation. It is a bad sign when a young man 
 has no relish for such company. Whatever be 
 a man's station in life, whether higher or lower, 
 public or private, he will become a better man, 
 and escape many a disaster, if he will listen in 
 due season to the voice of the intelligent and 
 the refined among the other sex. Not only do 
 they generally excel us in their nice perception 
 of the proprieties of life, and in their tender 
 sense of duty to both God and man; but they 
 are equally above us in their instinctive faculty 
 of foreseeing evil before it is upon us, and of 
 wisely discerning the character and motives of 
 men. It was not all a dream which made the 
 
40 Recollections of 
 
 wife of Julius Caesar so anxious that lie should 
 not go to the Senate-chamber on the fatal Ides 
 of March ; and had he complied with her en- 
 treaties, he might have escaped the dagger of 
 Brutus. Disaster followed disaster in the ca- 
 reer of Napoleon, from the time that he ceased 
 to feel the balance-wheel of Josephine's influence 
 on his impetuous spirit. Our own Washington, 
 when important questions were submitted to 
 him, often has said he would like to carry 
 the subject to his bed-chamber before forming 
 his decision ; and those who knew the clear 
 judgment and the elevated purposes of Mrs. 
 Washington, thought all the better of him for 
 wishing to make her a confidential counsellor. 
 Indeed, the great majority of men who have 
 acquired for themselves a good and great name, 
 were not only married men, but happily mar- 
 ried — "both paired and matched." 
 
Persons and Events. 41 
 
 CHAPTER in. 
 
 Robert Fulton. — His Appearance axd Manner. — His Sensi- 
 tiveness UNDER the Indifference manifested towards him 
 IN France and England. — His First Voyage by Steam from 
 New York to Albany. — His Anxiety during the Voyage. 
 — Account of the first Pecuniary Acknowledgment he 
 received for his Services. — The Trials he endured from 
 Vexatious Opposition. — Mr. Emmet's eloquent Address 
 when pleading his Cause before the Legislature. — Pro- 
 fessor Morse and the Electric Telegraph. 
 
 It must always remain as the distinctive 
 honor of the Hudson River, that it Avas the 
 cradle of Steam Navigation. It was on her 
 waters that the value of the discovery was final- 
 ly decided. True, the voyages (we would now 
 scarcely call them " runs") were at first slow af- 
 fairs compared with what has since been achieved. 
 If we made the passage from New York to Al- 
 bany anywhere within twenty -four hours, we 
 were well satisfied, and thought Ave had a fine 
 boat. I remember to have heard Fulton speak 
 with great exultation when The Car of Neptune 
 or The Paragon accomplished the distance in six- 
 
42 Recollkctions of 
 
 teen hours, having wind and tide in their favor. 
 How little did he comprehend the extent of the 
 power he had called into action ! 
 
 I met with him frequently during the last 
 four or five years of his life. Very generally 
 he was excellent company. He had seen much 
 and remembered much, both of men and things 
 which had passed before him when he was 
 abroad. He felt even a filial reverence for Mr. 
 West, and was always pleased with an opportu- 
 nity of relating some incident or anecdote in the 
 life of that distinguished man. But sometimes, 
 with the greatest men of the State around him, 
 he would become silent and abstracted, his mind 
 away upon his boats. In this mood he would 
 sit for perhaps half an hour, with his heavy eye- 
 brows drawn down and deeply corrugated, and 
 with a fixed look on the table-cloth before him, 
 as if he were counting the threads ; and then, 
 when he had let off the steam, he would join in 
 whatever conversation might be passing, and 
 would appear to enjoy it as if he had never 
 thought of any thing else. 
 
 Eeadily as he would take a part in any sub- 
 ject that might be introduced, he was evidently 
 
Persons and Events. 43 
 
 most free when the conversation turned on 
 something connected with his great achievement 
 in steam-navigation. He had a keen sense of 
 the unhandsome manner in which his patience 
 had been tried, and his time trifled with, both 
 in France and England, when engaged in his 
 experiments on sub-marine warfare ; and these 
 painful recollections would have made him not 
 the less willing, as his first triumph in that way, 
 to have sent one of his British Majesty's vessels 
 into the air during the late war between England 
 and America. 
 
 But the torpedo, with other plans and exploits 
 of sub-marine warfare, seemed to be of small 
 account to him, compared with the steamboat. 
 With that he wished to identify his name, fame, 
 and fortune. He had no concealment as to his 
 frequent misgivings of heart when making his 
 first efforts on our waters, and when, to ordinary 
 observers, he might have appeared flushed with 
 victory. Many of us could recollect the morn- 
 ing when The Clermont, the first boat on which 
 he made a journey to Albany, cast oft' from the 
 wharf. The occasion, being extensively known, 
 had excited much interest, and many were 
 
44 Recollections of 
 
 present to see " the bubble burst," as they said. 
 Owing to something not foreseen, and which he 
 wished to remedy, the boat had not gone far 
 before she was stopped ; and, during the delay, 
 he saw the siiynificant nods and winks that ■were 
 passing among the bystanders, many seeming to 
 say, "I told you so." This, he said, only nerved 
 his determination to succeed. But when after- 
 wards the boat moved on, making a steady 
 progress against the stream, and when the shouts 
 of spectatoi's began to rend the air, then he felt 
 as if he should have fainted away, his feelings 
 so entirely overpowered him ; and such, he added, 
 was his state of excitement during the whole 
 voyage, that when he arrived at Albany, he 
 was so exhausted that he could scarcely walk 
 without totterino;. 
 
 While there, the following incident occurred, 
 which well illustrates the state of his mind at 
 the time. It is well worth preserving, though 
 related by a gentleman who has seen fit to conceal 
 his name : 
 
 " I chanced," said he, " to be at Albany when 
 Fulton anived there in his unheard-of craft, 
 which everybody felt so much interest in seeing. 
 
Persons and Events. 45 
 
 Being ready to leave, and hearing that this craft 
 was fo return to New York, I repaired on board, 
 and inquired for Mr. Fulton. I was referred to 
 the cabin, and I there found a plain, gentlemanly 
 man, wholly alone, and engaged in writing. 
 
 "'Mr. Fulton, I presume?' 
 
 " ' Yes, sir.' 
 
 " ' Do you return to New York with this boat V 
 
 " ' We shall try to get back, sir.' 
 
 " ' Can I have a passage down V 
 
 '"You can take your chance with us, sir.' 
 
 "I inquired the amount to be paid, and after 
 a moment's hesitation, a sum, I think six dollars, 
 was named. The amount in coin I laid in 
 his open hand, and, with his eye fixed upon 
 it, he remained so long motionless, that I supposed 
 there might be a miscount, and said to him, 'Is 
 that right, sir?' This roused him as if from a 
 kind of revery, and as he looked up at me, the 
 big tear was brimming in his eye, and his voice 
 faltered as he said : ' Excuse me, sir ; but memory 
 was busy as I contemplated this, the first pecu- 
 niary reward I have ever received for all my ex- 
 ertions in adapting steam to navigation. I would 
 gladly commemorate the occasion over a bottle 
 
46 Recollections of 
 
 of wine with you ; but really I am too poor, even 
 for that, just now; yet I trust we may meet 
 again when this will not be so.' 
 
 " The voyage to New York was successful, as 
 all know, and terminated without accident. 
 
 " Some four years after this, when The Cler- 
 mont had been greatly improved, and her name 
 changed to The North Kiver, and when two other 
 boats, namely, The Car of Neptune and The Par- 
 agon, had been built, making Mr. Fulton's fleet 
 three boats regularly plying between New York 
 and Albany, I took passage upon one of these 
 for the latter city. • The cabin, in that day, was 
 below; and as I walked its length, to and fro, I 
 saw I was very closely observed by one I sup- 
 posed a stranger. Soon, however, I recalled the 
 features of Mr. Fulton ; but, without disclosing 
 this, I continued my walk, and waited the result. 
 At length, in passing his seat, our eyes met, when 
 he sprang to his feet, and eagerly seizing my 
 hand, exclaimed, 'I knew it must be you, for 
 your features have never escaped me; and al- 
 though I am still far from rich, yet I may ven- 
 ture that bottle now.' It was ordered; and 
 during its discussion, Mr. Fulton ran rapidly but 
 
Persons and Events. 47 
 
 vividly over his experience of the virorld's coldness 
 and sneers ; and of the hopes, fears, disappointments, 
 and difficulties, that were scattered through his 
 whole career of discovery, up to the very point 
 of his final, crowning triumph, at which he so 
 fully felt he had at last arrived. 'And in re- 
 viewing all these,' said he, 'I have again and 
 again recalled the occasion and the incident of 
 our first interview, at Albany; and never have 
 I done so without its renewing in my mind the 
 vivid emotions it originally caused. That seemed^ 
 and still does seem to me, the turning point in 
 my destiny — the dividing line between light and 
 darkness, in my career upon earth, for it was the 
 first actual recognition of my usefulness to my 
 fellow-men.' " 
 
 It is seen from Fulton's example, and from that 
 of others also, that there are three stages of trial 
 or conflict through which all great projectors or 
 inventors must pass. When their project is first 
 broached, it is ridiculed. The poor man is pitied, 
 and the best that can be said of him is that he 
 is becoming insane. His friends should look after 
 him. Pity that he should waste his time and 
 his means on such a visionary scheme, and re- 
 
48 Recollections of 
 
 duce liis family to destitution. He should be 
 put under some wise restraint. 
 
 When the inventor goes on amidst all this 
 torrent of ridicule and compassion, and shows 
 that he has really produced something valuable, 
 then envy begins to show itself. He is told 
 that, after all, there is nothing new in what he 
 claims to have discovered or earned out; that 
 others have known all this long before, but did 
 not think it worth while to make a noise about 
 it; and that, at best, he is stealing another man's 
 thunder, and should be discountenanced for his 
 dishonesty. 
 
 But if still he goes on, and his discoveiy is 
 found to put money in his purse, then comes the 
 tug of war. If he has obtained a patent for his 
 discovery or his invention, every species of art 
 will be employed to evade it. When he has 
 put down one assailant, another will start up, as 
 if to weary him out with endless strife; and too 
 often they break his heart, and wrest from him 
 what, if enjoyed, would have been but a moder- 
 ate compensation for the trials of a lifetime, 
 others growing rich by reaping the harvest that 
 in justice belonged to him. 
 
Persons and Events. 49 
 
 Through all these stages of trial Mr. Fulton 
 had to pass, and he felt them deeply, at times, 
 indeed, painfully. During the latter years of 
 his life, and while he was spending his time, his 
 strength, and his money, with even prodigal pro- 
 fusion for the public, an application was made to 
 the legislature of New York for the repeal of the 
 law granting to Livingston and Fulton, for a 
 limited period, the exclusive right to the waters 
 of the state for navigation by Steam. Mr. Ful- 
 ton appeared in defence of his rights with Thomas 
 Addis Emmet, Esq., as his counsel. Mr. Emmet 
 was the man for the occasion. After he had 
 finished his argument before the House, he turned 
 to Mr. Fulton, who was sitting near him, and ad- 
 dressed him in words so eloquent and prophetic 
 that they well deserve a place in this connec- 
 tion. 
 
 " I know and feel, and I rejoice in the convic- 
 tion," he said, " that for the present, at least, your 
 interests, my friend, are perfectly secure; but do 
 not therefore flatter yourself that you will be in- 
 volved in no future difficulties, on the same ac- 
 count. Those whom I have just addressed will 
 certainly decide with enlightened liberality and 
 
50 Recollections of 
 
 a scrupulous^ regard to public faith; but their 
 power and authority will pass away. Your 
 present antagonist, I also hope, will become con- 
 vinced by this discussion of the impropriety of 
 his application, and refrain from repeating it ; but 
 interest and avarice will still raise up against you 
 many enemies. You rely too implicitly on the 
 strength of your rights, and the sanctity of the 
 obligations on which they are founded. You ex- 
 pect too much from your well-earned reputation, 
 and the acknowledged utility to mankind of your 
 life and labors. You permit your mind to be en- 
 grossed with vast and noble plans for the public 
 good. Your knowledge and your fortune are 
 freely bestowed upon every thing that can con- 
 tribute to the advancement of science, or of the 
 elegant and useful arts. I admire and applaud 
 you for your readiness to devote to the service 
 of the public, the opulence you derive from its 
 grateful remuneration. Let me remind you, how- 
 ever, that you have other and closer ties. I 
 know the pain I am about to give, and I see the 
 tears I make you shed. But by that love I speak ; 
 by that love which, like the light of heaven, is 
 refracted in rays of different strength upon your 
 
Persons and Events. 51 
 
 wife and children, which, when collected and 
 combined, forms the sunshine of your soul; by 
 that love I do adjure you, provide in time for 
 those dearest objects of your care. Think not 
 I would instil into your generous mind a mean 
 or sordid notion ; but now that wealth is passing 
 through your hands, let me intreat you, hoard it 
 while you have it. Artful speculators wiU as- 
 suredly arise with patriotism on their tongues, 
 and selfishness in their hearts, who may mislead 
 some future legislature, by false and crafty dec- 
 lamations against the prodigality of their prede- 
 cessors ; who, calumniating and concealing your 
 merits, will talk loudly of your monopoly ; who 
 will represent it as a grievous burden on the 
 community, and not a compensation for signal 
 benefits; who will exaggerate your fortune, and 
 propose, in the language of Marat to the French 
 Convention, 'Let the scythe of equality move 
 over the republic' In a moment of delusion, 
 (unless some department of our government shall 
 constitutionally interpose an adamantine barrier 
 against national perfidy and injustice,) such men 
 may give your property tg the winds, and your 
 person to your creditors. Then, indeed, those 
 
52 Recollections of 
 
 who know your worth and services, will speak of 
 your downfall as of that portentous omen, which 
 marked a people's degradation, and the success- 
 ful crime of an intruder. 
 
 " ' A falcon towering in his pride of place, 
 Was by a monsing owl hawked at and killed.' 
 
 " Yes, my friend ! my heart bleeds while I utter 
 it; but I have fearful forebodings that you may 
 hereafter find in public faith, a broken staff for 
 your support, and receive from public gratitude 
 a broken heart for your reward." 
 
 Such is too often the way of the world. 
 High time that it should mend its ways ; for 
 though justice will generally be done to great 
 public benefactors at last, how often must they 
 wait for it until they are laid in their graves, and 
 are equally beyond the smiles and fi-owns of 
 men. We build the tombs and garnish the sep- 
 ulchres of the prophets, whom our fathers, or 
 we ourselves have killed by injustice and in- 
 gratitude, if not by calumny and cruelty. 
 
 Whatever wrong may have been done to Ful- 
 ton and others in this respect, the Magnetic Tel- 
 egraph has led to a different result. Locomotion 
 
Persons and Events. 53 
 
 by steam, whether on land or water, and the 
 transmission of intelligence by electricity, are 
 among the greatest achievements of our day ; and 
 the memory of Fulton is not more intimately con- 
 nected with the one than the name of Morse with 
 the other. It was through a long and exhaust- 
 ina: conflict that Professor Morse at lenarth reach- 
 ed his triumph. He had to contend against 
 ridicule, jealousy, wrongs in almost every sense ; 
 but he persevered with a firmness of purpose not 
 to be overcome, and is now reaping his reward. 
 His friends have now the pleasiire to see him en- 
 joying the fruit of his labors in a wid^e spread 
 fame, and in the receipt of a liberal income which 
 he employs with a generous hand in promoting 
 the great ends of public welfare. 
 
54 Recollections of 
 
 CHAPTER IV. 
 
 An Evening -with Dr. Mason. — His Exuberance of Spirit af- 
 ter Periods of Depression. — Anecdotes respecting Gouver- 
 NEUR Morris, Bishop Moore, Dr. Livingston, Dr. Bisset, 
 Dr. Witherspoon, Benjamin Franklin, Mr. Whitfield. — 
 Comparison of Whitfield with Mason. — Chief Point of 
 Difference between the two as Preachers. — Dr. Mason's 
 Talent as an Expositor. 
 
 From 1811 to 1813 a warm controversy perva- 
 ded the Associate Reformed Church on the sub- 
 ject of Free and Open Communion, as it is gen- 
 erally termed. Dr. Mason's conspicuous position, 
 being at the head of their Theological Seminary, 
 and the example he had set in admitting to the 
 Communion Table Christians of other denomi- 
 nations, drew upon him animadversions from 
 many of his brethren, which at times lay heavily 
 on his spirits. He was the man to feel such 
 things. He had both a warm and a large heart. 
 Mighty as he was in battle, he had no relish for 
 it. He delighted in other scenes. A child 
 could not be more fond of the language and 
 
Persons and Events. 55 
 
 looks of affection than Dr. Mason; and opposi- 
 tion, or misrepresentation from brethren whom he 
 loved, sometimes brought on him the dejection 
 to which he was liable. He has frequently 
 come into my study, when suffering under his 
 sorrow, with his eyes still wet with the tear 
 which probably had been lying there as he pass- 
 ed through the street. One of these occasions 
 was so remarkable for what passed, that I made 
 a distinct note of it at the time. It was in the 
 evening, and as he entered the room, holding 
 out both his hands to me, I asked: 
 
 " Well, Doctor, how are you this evening ?" 
 He replied " Ah, hon ami, blundering along as 
 usual; yes, blundering along; that's the best I 
 can say of it; but amidst all my blundering, I 
 feel that, through mercy, I still gain a little on 
 the way towards Heaven." 
 
 After pouring out his whole heart in strains 
 which it vpas edifying and affecting to hear, he 
 felt relieved. His face brightened up, and the 
 remainder of the evening was spent in great 
 good humor. He was unusually full of anec- 
 dotes relating to his brethren or fathers in the 
 ministry. 
 
56 Recollections of 
 
 He had a higli respect for Bishop Moore, a 
 man noted not only for the purity of his char- 
 acter, but also for the retiring modesty of his 
 disposition, and for the general favor in which 
 he was held. As the story ran : A dinner was 
 given by some one of Gouverneur Morris's friends 
 when he was about departing for Europe. Bish- 
 op Moore and his wife were of the party. 
 Among other things that passed in- conversation, 
 Ml-. Morris observed that he had made his will 
 in prospect of going abroad ; and turning to 
 Bishop Moore, said to him : 
 
 "My reverend friend, I have bequeathed to 
 you my whole stock of impudence." 
 
 Bishop Moore replied : " Sir, you are not only 
 very kind, but very generous; you have left to 
 me by far the largest portion of your estate." 
 
 Mrs. Moore immediately added: "My dear, 
 you have come into possession of your inheritance 
 remarkably soon." 
 
 Another instance of smart repartee he related, 
 as having occurred between Dr. Livingston, of 
 the Dutch Church, and Dr. Bisset, of the Episco- 
 pal. To see the point of the reply, it should 
 be remembered that over an outer door of one 
 
Persons and Events. 57 
 
 of the Dutch Churches was a figure of an open 
 Bible ; and in the centre of the pediment, over 
 the columns in front of St. Paul's there was, and 
 still is, the figure of the Apostle. The two 
 reverend gentlemen chanced to meet in Broad- 
 way, just opposite St. Paul's, when Dr. Living- 
 ston, pointing to the statue before them, remark- 
 ed to Dr. Bisset: 
 
 " I am sorry to see, my dear Sir, that our 
 Episcopal brethren have turned the Apostle out 
 of doors." 
 
 Dr. Bisset instantly replied: "If that is so 
 my good friend, we have not yet shut the whole 
 Bible out into the street." 
 
 " Speaking of wit and talent for ready replies," 
 he continued, " as we sometimes find them among 
 the Clergy, I have often admired the way in which 
 Dr. Witherspoon put down a cockney infidel on a 
 journey from London to Edinburgh. They were 
 travelling in a stage-coach as was the custom in 
 those days, and soon after the company had set 
 out, the young Englishman began to rail against 
 the Scriptures, and to speak in high admiration 
 of such heathen philosophers as Plato, Socrates, 
 and others, as infinitely surpassing the wisest and 
 
58 Recollections of 
 
 best men described in tbe Bible. And yet," lie 
 exclaimed, " here are all our parsons would have 
 us believe that none of these great and wise men 
 of former times can be admitted to Heaven, because 
 they never saw the Bible. For his part, he had 
 too much good sense to believe any such thing. 
 He believed that the wise men of Greece and 
 Eome had a better chance in the world to come, 
 than half the preachers who would allow them 
 no chance at all ;" and waxing warm on the sub- 
 ject, he turned toward Dr. Witherspoon, who was 
 sitting on a back seat in the coach, pertly asking, 
 " Well, old gentleman, what do you say on the 
 subject ? Do you join with others in shutting out 
 Socrates from Heaven because he was not a be- 
 liever in Christianity ?" 
 
 " Aweel," said Dr. Witherspoon, slightly using 
 the Scotch accent, which he did sometimes for his 
 own gratification, "I have just this to say. If I 
 should be so happy as to get to Heaven, which 
 I hope I may ; and if you should get there too, 
 which I greatly fear you will not — if we find 
 Socrates there, we'll baith be glad to see him ; 
 and if he is not there, the Judge Avill be able to 
 give us a good reason for his absence, if we ask 
 
Persons and Events. 59 
 
 him." The cockney found he had waked up the 
 wrong passenger, and from that time tUl the end 
 of the journey, he had little more to say about 
 Socrates or any one else. " But was not the 
 reply admirable ?" continued Dr. Mason. " It con- 
 tained in a nut-shell all that can well be said on 
 the subject," 
 
 He had an anecdote, also, respecting Whit- 
 field. The incident occurred when "Whitfield 
 was iu Philadelphia, preaching and collecting 
 funds in behalf of his Orphan Asylum in Geor- 
 gia. Dr. Franklin was induced to go and hear 
 him on one of these occasions ; but having a 
 due regard for his reputation as a calm philoso- 
 pher, he went, determined not to be moved by 
 Mr. Whitfield's appeals. To be the more safe 
 against yielding, and submitting to a heavy drain 
 upon his purse, he put some silver in the pocket 
 of his vest, intending to give so much of it as 
 he might judge proper when he heard the claims 
 of the Orphan House fairly stated ; but he put 
 his gold into his purse, and stowed it away so 
 that he could not well reach it in a crowd. 
 As Whitfield went on with his sermon, Franklin 
 soon made up his mind that he would give all 
 
60 Recollections of 
 
 his silver. Not long afterwards he was strug- 
 gling for elbow-room that he might get at his 
 purse and all his gold. When the sermon was 
 finished he felt a desire to enlarge his contribu- 
 tion still further ; and, with strong marks of 
 emotion in every feature of his face, he applied 
 to a friend (a Quaker) who stood near him for 
 the loan of a guinea, or whatever more he could 
 spare. 
 
 " Any other time, Benjamin," was the reply, 
 "any other time thee can have whatever thee 
 wants ; but nothing now ; thee seems to be not 
 in thy right mind." 
 
 The telling of this anecdote led us very nat- 
 urally into a discussion respecting Whitfield's 
 character and the secret of his success as a 
 preacher of the Gospel. In the progress of the 
 conversation, I repeated a remark which had 
 been made to me by an aged lady who had of- 
 ten heard him, and which has always appeared 
 to me both graphic and just. 
 
 "Oh, Sir," she would say, "He made me feel 
 as if God was looking right into my heart, and 
 was about to call me before Him for judgment." 
 
 "There," said Dr. Mason, as he turned his 
 
Persons and Events. 61 
 
 deep, melted eye upon me, "there lay his power. 
 He was clothed in his Master's might, and made 
 his hearers feel that he spoke in his Master's 
 name." 
 
 It was so, no doubt. Whitfield's manner, as 
 well as his matter, tended to fill the minds of 
 his hearers with a sense of God's presence. It 
 was something of what Paul describes as the 
 effect of Gospel preaching on the sinner in his 
 days : " And thus are the secrets of his heart 
 made manifest; and so falling down on his face, 
 he will worship God, and report that God is in 
 you of a truth." 
 
 Whitfield's sermons ought never to have been 
 issued from the press. When read, they do 
 him great injustice. He was a preacher to be 
 heard; and his sermons were not for the eye, 
 but for the ear, accompanied by what the eye 
 saw in the preacher. I have been told by 
 those who were frequently among the crowds 
 that followed him, that even when you could 
 not hear a word he was saying, the mind was 
 filled with solemnity and awe by what was seen 
 in the face covered with tears and raised to 
 Heaven, in the hands stretched out toward his 
 
62 Recollections of 
 
 hearers, trembling as if witli anxiety to embrace 
 them and bring them to Christ. And when to 
 this spectacle were added those tones of voice 
 that sometimes seemed to thunder the words of 
 God's law, and at others to soften down into 
 the liquid accents of mercy and promised forgive- 
 ness, we can no longer be surprised at Whit- 
 field's wonderful power over his audience. Few 
 speakers or hearers ever reached his level in this 
 respect. He could arrest and overcome the 
 learned and the unlearned ; the scoffing infidel 
 and the cold formalist; the veiy child whose 
 faculties seemed just budding forth into activity, 
 and the aged man who sat leaning on his stafi', 
 with few powers of intellect left from the waste 
 of years. 
 
 It has been frequently said that there was a 
 resemblance between Whitfield and Mason in the 
 impassioned character of their eloquence; in its 
 power to melt and subdue their hearers. There 
 was, probably, much to warrant the observation ; 
 and yet there were marked points of difference 
 in the ministry of the two men. If the one 
 might claim a superiority in reaching and rous- 
 ing the conscience, the other was far the superi- 
 
Persons and Events. 63 
 
 or in enliglitening the mind. As an expositor 
 of Scripture, Dr. Mason had very few equals. 
 Even his tone and manner of reading a context 
 would prepare his readers to understand it ; and 
 then he would seize on the leading idea of the 
 inspired writer, and show all its aspects and 
 bearings with a clearness which would make you 
 wonder you had not seen it all before. This 
 fondness for Biblical Theology, as he loved to 
 call it, may have rendered him, as a Professor in 
 a Theological Chair, somewhat too indifferent to 
 " Systems of Divinity," as was sometimes said of 
 him. But he was not to be moved from the 
 plan of teaching he had laid down for himself, 
 making " The Bible, the whole Bible, and nothing 
 but the Bible," the true way to raise up a well 
 famished ministry to the Church. And if he 
 did too much undervalue systems, we should re- 
 member that it required a strong mind and a 
 strong will like his, to rescue Theological Educa- 
 tion from that bondage which had insensibly 
 created something like another race of schoolmen 
 in modern days. He greatly contributed to bring 
 in the era of liberty, whiqh gives to the Bible its 
 appropriate supremacy, and to systems their proper 
 
64 Recollections of 
 
 dependency, and which we now find recognized 
 in our best Seminaries of sacred learning. 
 
 There was another feature in the character of 
 Dr. Mason's mind, which I have rarely seen 
 equalled. His thoughts were often uttered with 
 a terseness and a compactness of expression that 
 rendered their impression indelible on the minds 
 of his hearers; and he abounded in those ema- 
 nations from his brilliant intellect, quite as much 
 in conversation as in preaching. 
 
 As an instance ; There was a case of sickness 
 among his church-members, which had given him 
 much anxiety ; and he invited me to go with him 
 on a visit to the sufferer, who was then drawing 
 near the grave. He was a man naturally of 
 strong and warm passions; had been somewhat 
 irregular in his life; but was very penitent on 
 his death-bed. When we had made our visit 
 and were on our way home, Dr. Mason, heaving 
 a sigh, observed, 
 
 "I trust there is hope for poor L . He 
 
 had much to contend with in his past days. He 
 was of a make that exposed him to easily beset- 
 ting sins. His blood seemed to be always at 
 fever heat." 
 
Peksons and Events. 65 
 
 With an anxious look, he asked me what I 
 thought of him. I expressed the hope that he 
 might find peace in his end, and alluded to the 
 constitutional temperament of the man, when the 
 Doctor immediately replied: 
 
 " Yes, yes. In forming our opinion of any 
 man's spiritual condition, we must take into ac- 
 count his temptations, arising from the circum- 
 stances of his life and the peculiar infirmities of 
 nature with which he had to contend. We must 
 be careful to make due allowance for all that. 
 Happily for us all, we are to be judged by Him 
 who 'knoweth our frame, (repeating the words,) 
 and remembereth that we are dust.'" 
 
 He paused for a moment, and then added, 
 with the earnestness which so belonged to him- 
 self: 
 
 " Indeed, I have often thought that it required 
 as much grace to keep the Apostle Peter from 
 knocking a man down in the street, as to make 
 the Apostle John look like an angel." 
 
 By such strong epigrammatic and original 
 language he sometimes gave a volume in a single 
 sentence ; the coin always bearing his own image 
 and superscription. It was Mason's wherever 
 
66 Recollections of 
 
 you found it. It was gold, not copper, nor even 
 silver; small in bulk, easily portable, but of per- 
 manent intrinsic value, and capable of being 
 expanded and applied to an almost infinite variety 
 of uses. 
 
Persons and Events. 67 
 
 CHAPTER V. 
 
 De Witt Clinton, Stephen Van Rensselaer, James Kent, 
 Abraham Van Vechten. — Sketches of their character 
 
 AND appearance. CONVERSATION ON RELI&IOUS SUBJECTS. 
 
 Causes which have contributed to banish infidelity from 
 the minds of public men. — Opinions respecting Calvin. — 
 Origin of Civil freedom or Government by Representation 
 FOUND in the Bible. 
 
 The great men have not all died out. The 
 race is far from being extinct. Every age of the 
 world has its portion of them, and I am persuaded 
 our generation has its fall share. It could not 
 well be otherwise. The leading men of the 
 present day are the sons of those heroic spirits 
 who were the fathers of the American Revolution. 
 "There were giants in the earth in those days," 
 and well did they perform their gigantic work. 
 Their sons show by whose hands they have been 
 trained, and they do honor to their lineage. 
 
 I was strongly reminded of this yesterday at 
 Gov. Clinton's, who had assembled a few friends 
 to dinner and to spend the evening at his house. 
 I never saw him appear to more advantage. The 
 
68 Recollections of 
 
 topics introduced, and the company around his 
 table were well calculated to draw him out. 
 Among them were Chancellor Kent, Judge Piatt, 
 Abraham Van Vechten, Esq., Gen. Stephen Van 
 Rensselaer, and others who have at various times 
 and in various ways swayed the destinies of our 
 State. They formed a fine group for the eye. 
 
 A first glance at Clinton showed that he was 
 no ordinary man. The majestic was a predom- 
 inant feature of his mind and body. You saw 
 it in his figure, in his manner, in his countenance, 
 all indicating him as the right man to be Gov- 
 ernor of the Empire State, and to create an era 
 in her history that should never be forgotten. 
 He has left his mark on her progress to prosper- 
 ity and power too deeply engraven ever to be 
 effaced. He began public life with an inheritance 
 of great advantages in his favor. He was the 
 son of James Clinton who had held a high com- 
 mand in the armies of the Revolution; and he 
 was a nephew of George Clinton, who had ren- 
 dered important services both in the armies and in 
 the councils of the nation during that memorable 
 struggle, and was afterwards, for several terms of 
 office. Governor of the State of New York, much re- 
 
Peksoxs axd Events. 69 
 
 spected for the wise policy of Hs administration. 
 The name of Clinton had thus become a kind of 
 household word in the history of the State, when 
 De Witt Clinton came intp office as her chief magis- 
 trate; and well did he employ the iiifluence he 
 derived from it to promote her test interests. 
 Posterity will award to him the chief credit of 
 the Erie Canal, whatever may have been said or 
 done during his life by the small men who were 
 envious of his fame. It is idle to reply that 
 others thought of the work and talked of it before 
 him. He was the man who took it up and 
 carried it through, staking his reputation on his 
 success ; and no one could be with him long enough 
 to see the large scale on which his conceptions 
 were formed, and not feel persuaded that he was 
 just the statesman for such a noble work. 
 
 Gen. Van Rensselaer was a fine model of the 
 Christian gentleman. Not only were his manners 
 courteous and affable, but there was an habitual 
 expression of kindness and good will in his Ian. 
 guage and looks that seemed never to forsake 
 iim. His judgment was eminently sound and 
 discriminating, both as to men and things ; and 
 it always told powerfully on behalf of any meas- 
 
70 Recollections of 
 
 ure wlien it was known that Gen. Van Rensse- 
 laer was in favoz* of it. Nor did he ever con- 
 fine his approbation to mere words. His large 
 fortune was employed with a liberal hand to 
 promote evfery object, whether in Church or State, 
 which his judgment approved. He was the 
 early friend of the internal improvements which 
 have added so greatly to the resources of the 
 Commonwealth. His cordial approbation of 
 the Erie Canal when first proposed, was of 
 great importance to the successful issue of the 
 enterprise. Especially in its infancy, it needed 
 just that influence which his reputation for sound 
 judgment was able to give it. It was at first 
 ridiculed by many as a gi'eat ditch, in which both 
 the credit and resources of the State would be 
 buried. But he stood by it as its fast friend 
 till he saw it completed, and acknowledged as a 
 stream of wealth to the City and State of New 
 York. Whatever credit may be due to Gov. Clin- 
 ton in the work, he was always ready to acknowl- 
 edge how deeply he was indebted to Gen. Van 
 Rensselaer for his hearty and uniform support. 
 
 Chancellor Kent's eye was always radiant with 
 clear intelligence. There was nothing dim or in- 
 
Persons and Events. 71 
 
 animate about him. Every lineament was strongly 
 defined. On whatever subject he spoke, you saw 
 that he had at his command a vast body of 
 thought; and with a simplicity of manner, a 
 quickness and agility in all his movements almost 
 juvenile, he was a delightful companion, especially 
 when he let his mind have full play. 
 
 The various and high positions in his profes- 
 sion which he had reached, gave him great ce- 
 lebrity as a laAvyer. 
 
 Mr. Van Vechten was a fine specimen of a 
 class whom he loved to represent. If he was 
 somewhat heavy in his appearance, and slow in 
 his movements, he had all the staid solidity and 
 strength which marked the Hollanders in their 
 best days, and he never appeared, either in 
 public or private, without commanding universal 
 respect. 
 
 The conversation was free and general, turn- 
 ing very much on -religious subjects. The inquiry 
 was started by Gov. Clinton, how we are to ac- 
 count for the great change respecting the truth 
 of Christianity which has taken place of late 
 years in the minds of the educated classes, and 
 especially among public men. 
 
72 Recollections of 
 
 " What are the main causes," he asked, "which 
 have produced it or brought it about?" 
 
 " As to the fact," said Chancellor Kent, " there 
 is no doubt, there can be no doubt. I remember," 
 he added, " that in my younger days there were 
 very few professional men that were not infidels, 
 or at least so far inclined to infidelity that they 
 could not be called believers in the truth of the 
 Bible. What has led to the change?" 
 
 Although the question was addressed imme- 
 diately to jne, I was desirous to learn the views 
 of those around me, and replied that I should 
 like to hear how the gentlemen themselves would 
 answer the question. 
 
 Chancellor Kent at once said, " One great 
 reason of it is with the ministers of the Grospel 
 themselves. As a profession, they are better 
 qualified for their work than they were formerly. 
 Notwithstanding the venerable names of Edwards, 
 Davies, and some others, who are to be had in 
 all reverence for their learning and ability, take 
 the clergy as a class, and they were not, forty 
 or fifty years ago, what they are now. Pains are 
 taken to educate ministers for tlieir work, and to 
 raise them more to a level with educated minds 
 
Persons and Events. 73 
 
 in other professions. If thinking men are to 
 embrace Christianity, our understandings, as well 
 as our consciences, must be addressed. We must 
 have argument as well as exhortation ; and I be- 
 lieve one great reason which has contributed to 
 place educated men on the right side of the 
 question, is that we find our clergy able to give 
 us both ; to act like Paul, who reasoned concern- 
 ing righteousness, temperance, and judgment to 
 come, while he also rebuked with all long suffer- 
 ing and doctrine. When the great Apostle had 
 occasion to preach before the men of Athens, he 
 showed himself a man of learning, and preached 
 in a way that constrained the Athenians to hear 
 him with respect." 
 
 "There is, no doubt, much in that," said Mr. 
 Van Vechten. "An intelligent ministry for in- 
 telligent hearers is indispensable, and the founders 
 of theological seminaries which have recently 
 been established in our country, deserve all praise 
 as wise men and good Christians. They begin at 
 the foundation. We have as good materials 
 in this country for making an able ministry as 
 can be found in any other. But we must pro- 
 vide for making them, and not leave them in the 
 
74 Recollections of 
 
 raw material. There is an emulation springing up 
 in this matter among the different Denominations, 
 which is among the best signs of the times." 
 
 "These considerations all speak to the point," 
 said Gov. Clinton, " and I will add another rea- 
 son which I think has operated to produce the 
 happy result. It is the more frequent and friendly 
 intercourse which now subsists between the clergy 
 and the more intelligent classes of the laity. 
 Although in former times we had such able men 
 among the American clergy as have been named, 
 they seem to have been too much secluded from 
 mankind. The consequence was injurious to 
 themselves; for to a clergyman whose business it 
 is to act on the human mind, acquaintance with 
 men is as important in its place as acquaintance 
 with the truth he is to preach to them. But 
 it was still more injurious to men of cultivated 
 minds, on whom their high attainments might 
 have enabled them to exercise a salutary influence. 
 They were too much left to contemplate religion 
 only as it was presented to them in their inter- 
 course with men far inferior to themselves in tal- 
 ent, learning, and general cultivation. Indeed," 
 he added, with much earnestness, " while I would 
 
Persons and Events. 75 
 
 not have a pastor of the most brilliant attainments 
 neglect the humblest member of his flock, I would 
 also have him consider all men of minds like his 
 own entitled to a portion of his pastoral care. 
 Let him take eyery fit opportunity to bring them 
 into active sympathy vnth himself in the wide 
 fields of knowledge, and he will soon find how 
 much good he may do them as a minister of the 
 Gospel. In this respect our Bible Society Anni- 
 versaries, and such occasions, are of great service. 
 They bring leading clergymen and leading lay- 
 men together on the same platform, to speak and 
 consult on the same great subjects ; and on both 
 sides we gain confidence in each other by becom- 
 ing better acquainted with each other." 
 
 " "We should not forget another cause," he 
 went on to say, " which has greatly contributed 
 to the change. The twenty or thirty years which 
 spread over the latter part of the last century 
 and beginning of the present, have given demon- 
 stration of the awful results to which infidelity 
 leads. Facts which speak for themselves, and 
 too loudly to be disregarded, have shown that 
 infidelity makes war on the social and civil 
 welfare of man, as well as on his eternal safety. 
 
76 Recollections of 
 
 No man can read the history of France during 
 her Revolution, and the convulsions following it, 
 without a deep conviction that the horrors which 
 then shocked the civilized world sprung mainly 
 from the absence of a religious sentiment in the 
 nation. No thinking man can contemplate such 
 atrocities without concluding that the tree is evil 
 which produces such evil fruit. I have sometimes 
 thought that the Almighty seemed to have al- 
 lowed that deluge of guilt and misery to over- 
 spread France and other nations, in order to show 
 them in frightful clearness what must be the con- 
 sequence of that general renunciation of Christian- 
 ity into which the distinguished men of the times 
 were so inclined to fall. It was enough, if any 
 thing could be enough, to make every wise man 
 pause and turn back. It was the sight of a 
 whirlwind reaped by those who had sowed the 
 wind. 
 
 " But," he continued, " here is another thought 
 that has often presented itself to my mind. So 
 far as I know, when men of enlarged and dis- 
 ciplined minds have renoimced infidelity and em- 
 braced Christianity, they have very generally be- 
 come what is usually called evangelical Christians." 
 
Persoks and Events. 77 
 
 "Yes, it is so," was observed by several in 
 tlie company; and name after name being given 
 in proof of it, I was asked, " Why is it that snch 
 men usually embrace evangelical doctrines?" I 
 replied : 
 
 "It is because they have studied the subject 
 carefully. We must suppose that their change 
 from infidelity to faith in the Bible as an in- 
 spired book, is the result of thoughtful investiga- 
 tion; and in my view, no man can study the 
 Bible in the spirit of sound philosophy, and not 
 find in it as its prominent teachings, what are 
 usually termed the doctrines of grace." 
 
 " You remind me," said Chancellor Kent, " of 
 a story respecting Lord Bolingbroke and Dr. 
 Church. I can repeat it word for word, as 1 
 have read it." 
 
 "As the story runs," he continued, "Lord 
 Bolingbroke was one day sitting in his house, 
 reading Calvin's Institutes, when he received 
 a morning visit from Dr. Church. After the 
 usual salutations, he asked the Doctor if he could 
 guess what the book was, which then lay before 
 him; 'and which,' (added his Lordship,) 'I have 
 been studying.' *No, really, my lord, I cannot,' 
 
78 Recollections op 
 
 said the Doctor. 'It is Calvin's Institutes,' 
 replied Bolingbroke ; ' what do you think of 
 these matters, Doctor V ' Oh, my lord, we don't 
 think about such antiquated stuff; we teach the 
 plain doctrines of virtue and morality, and have 
 long laid aside those abstruse points about grace.' 
 ' Mark my words. Doctor,' (said Bolingbroke,) 
 'you know I don't believe the Bible to be a di- 
 vine revelation ; but they who do, can never 
 defend it on any principle but the doctrine of 
 grace. To say truth, I have at times been al- 
 most persuaded to believe it upon this view of 
 things; and there is one argument which has 
 gone very far with me, in behalf of its authen- 
 ticity, which is, that the belief in it exists upon 
 earth, even when committed to the care of such 
 as you, who pretend to believe it, and yet deny 
 the only principles upon which it is defensible.' " 
 
 When he had finished the story, he added, 
 " I cannot vouch for the truth of the anecdote ; 
 but I will say if it is not true, it ought to be." 
 
 "I see no reason to question it," said Gov. 
 Clinton. "I consider John Calvin as one of the 
 greatest of men, and to whom full justice has 
 scarcely been rendered even at this late day. 
 
Persons and Events. 79 
 
 Great men who act as reformers or projectors 
 very seldom receive their just reward while they 
 live. On the contrary, they usually have to en- 
 counter opposition, misrepresentation, and re- 
 proach. In some cases justice is rendered soon 
 after they are in their graves, when they can no 
 longer be pursued from motives of personal pique 
 or jealousy; but in other cases they and their 
 labors are not fully appreciated till centuries after 
 their death. The seed they have sown does not 
 produce its fully ripe fruit till generation after 
 generation has passed by. Such a reformer was 
 John Calvin. I am not going to say whether 
 his theology might or might not be improved. 
 Nor do I say he was always right in his views 
 or his conduct. No mere man is always right. 
 
 " But when you consider what he did, and what 
 he had to encounter when doing it, Calvin is 
 seen to be a wonderful man. Indeed, gentle- 
 men," he added, "we of the laity must admit 
 that the aggregate of great intellect found among 
 the clergy, exceeds that of any other profession. 
 Law has its profound men, medicine has its skil- 
 ful men, but in men of comprehensive and ele- 
 vated understanding, who can grasp and elucidate 
 
80 Recollections of 
 
 great questions, divinity outnumbers botli law and 
 medicine. President 'Edwards I consider as a 
 host in himseE His writings analyze, while tliey 
 defend, the doctrines of the Bible ; and he has so 
 interwoven theology with sound philosophy, that 
 you can no more resist his reasoning than you 
 can overthrow the clearest demonstration in Euclid. 
 What clean work, for instance, has he made of 
 his opponents in his Treatise on Original Sin. 
 He is there the inductive philosopher to an ex- 
 tent that would have gratified Lord Bacon to his 
 heart's content." 
 
 Acknowledging, as I best might, the kind 
 manner in which he had spoken of the clergy, I 
 observed that no one could refuse them the cred- 
 it of having formed the great majority in the 
 array of gifted spirits who unchained the intellect 
 of Europe at the time of the Reformation; and 
 that, especially in Great Britain, the high charac- 
 ter of divines in the days of Elizabeth, was far 
 from being lost at the present day. 
 
 " Certainly," he replied ; " and when I spoke in 
 such terms of commendation respecting an Amer- 
 ican divine, I would not be considered as under- 
 rating the great lights of the Church in England 
 
Persons and Events. 81 
 
 and Scotland, or on the Continent of Europe. 
 But," he continued, '' when I reflect what a great 
 falling off in sound theology has taken place in 
 Germany and Holland during the last hundred 
 years, and compare it with the noble army of 
 divines that have arisen during this period in Eng- 
 land, Scotland, and America, I feel that if the 
 nations on the European Continent took the lead 
 in introducing the Protestant Reformation, Enoj- 
 land, Scotland, and America have become, and 
 will remain, the great bulwark and defence of 
 the Protestant faith." 
 
 " All right, all right I" exclaimed Chancellor 
 Kent. " But let us ivturn to Calvin. I have 
 been amused at times to trne how some men Avill 
 run down John Calvin, who are very high in their 
 praises of ' the judicious Hooker,' as they call him. 
 And yet, if I am not mistaken, Hooker has com- 
 mended Calvin as one of the best theologians the 
 world ever saw." Turning to me he asked, " Is it 
 not so?" 
 
 I answered, that no one could bestow higher 
 praise on Calvin than we find coming from Hooker ; 
 and that he not only places him first among Fi'ench 
 divines, but also pronounces him entitled to honor 
 
 6 
 
82 Recollections of 
 
 throughout the world, both for the system of the- 
 ology contained in his Institutes, and for his Com- 
 mentaries on the Bible.* 
 
 " Hooker's testimony should certainly be view- 
 ed as very decisive," said Gov. Clinton. "Per- 
 haps I have admired Calvin the more as he ap- 
 pears to me to have taught, on the subject of 
 government, the leading principles of freedom and 
 popular rights, and with such clearness of view, 
 that I have sometimes wondered where he got 
 them." 
 
 " You need not wonder," I replied. " If you 
 mean such principles of government as the choice 
 of rulers by the people to be ruled, he got them 
 from the Bible. This he could find not only 
 in the polity of the Church in Apostolic times, 
 but he found it also in the Old Testament, as 
 the cardinal principle on which Moses organized 
 
 * The following is Hooker's language : " I think him (Calvin) incom- 
 parably the wisest man that ever the French Church had since the hour 
 it enjoyed him. Though thousands were debtors to him, as touching 
 divine knowledge, yet he to none, only to God, the author of that 
 most blessed portion, the Book of Life." " Two things there are which 
 have deservedly procured for him honor throughout the world ; the 
 one, his exceeding pains in composing the Institutes of the Christian 
 Religion ; the other, his no less industrious travails for exposition of 
 Holy Scripture according to the same Institutes." 
 
Persons and Events. 83 
 
 a government for the commonwealth of the He- 
 brews." 
 
 With his usual grave manner, Mr. Van Vech- 
 ten asked, " How do you make that out ? I knew 
 that he could find it in the Acts of the Apostles, 
 but I never saw it in the Pentateuch." 
 
 I referred to the passages in Exodus and 
 Deuteronomy bearing on the question, and, while 
 I was speaking, could not help noticing the ex- 
 pression of eager interest which Gov. Clinton's 
 face assumed. 
 
 "There it is, there it is, Mr. Van Vechten," 
 he exclaimed, before I had well finished ; " as 
 plainly as you ever found law in Blackstone, there 
 you find in Moses the great principle of govern- 
 ment by representation; rulers chosen by the 
 people ruled as an acknowledged constituency. 
 And here we see that the distinguishing feature 
 in free government which many have claimed 
 as the discovery of modern days, was known to 
 Moses, and by Moses recognized and enacted as 
 a part of constitutional law in the Hebrew State. 
 Gentlemen," he added with great animation, "I 
 believe the world will n§ver cease finding new 
 evidences of the divine inspiration of the Bible ; 
 
84 Recollections of 
 
 and just as knowledge at large advances, do these 
 evidences multiply. It is no matter what the 
 science may be ; it may be the science of govern- 
 ment, or the science of astronomy, or the science 
 of physiology, just according as they are improved 
 or thoroughly understood, they all seem in their 
 respective places to bring fresh testimony to the 
 divinity of that one book. Compare the Bible 
 in this respect with other works. Take Milton's 
 'Paradise Lost;' you learn the whole proofs of 
 its authorship in an hour, and the question is 
 settled. There is no more to "be said about it. 
 On the other hand, take the " Letters of Junius ;" 
 you pursue the question of their authorship day 
 after day, and find nothing reliable. The whole 
 subject seems more and more confused and uncer- 
 tain as you proceed. But go to the Bible, and 
 you find on the very face of the book, argument 
 plain and unanswerable, showing who is its 
 author. You see matter and manner before you 
 which could have emanated from no finite mind. 
 And then as you go further on in the volume 
 itself, and as time goes on bringing to light new 
 discoveries in the world of nature, the evidence 
 still rolls up higher and higher, no previous ar- 
 
Persons and Events. 85 
 
 gument lost or weakened by the discoveries of 
 others that are new, but all combining to show 
 in greater strength that the book comes from the 
 great fountain of knowledge and mercy. Can any 
 thing be more delightful or satisfying than to 
 pursue a chain of evidence that in this way bright- 
 ens and widens with every step we take in fol- 
 lowing it?" 
 
 As we rode home, Gen. Van Rensselaer ex- 
 pressed the high gratification he had enjoyed from 
 the conversation of the evening, and he asked me 
 to make a memorandum of it. I have done so 
 to the best of my recollection. 
 
86 Recollections of 
 
 CHAPTER VI. 
 
 Interview with Col. Aaron Burr. — Generally avoided by his 
 
 FORMER acquaintances AFTER HIS RETURN FROM EuROPE. 
 
 Interest felt on his behalf on account of his religious 
 
 parentage. his colloquial powers. his sensibility at 
 
 the remembrance of his parents. sorrow over the death 
 
 of his daughter. his resentment at feeling himself 80 
 
 generally proscribed. his despondency as to himself. 
 
 His DEATH. 
 
 I HAVE just, passed through a remarkable scene, 
 in which I have been an actor, with the famous 
 Col. Aaron Burr. 
 
 Since this gentleman's return from Europe, he 
 has resided in our city, and has pursued his pro- 
 fession as a lawyer. His antecedents, in the 
 death of Gen. Hamilton, and other unfavorable 
 events of his history, combined with a general 
 belief that his profligacy is much the same as it 
 was in his former days, have kept the great ma- 
 jority of our respectable citizens aloof from him. 
 And yet it seems there are those who think of 
 him with interest and sympathy, chiefly on ac- 
 count of his religious parentage. 
 
 There is a Society in the city, comprising 
 
Persons and Events. 87 
 
 many of our most intelligent Christian ladies, not 
 only from different churches, but from different 
 denominations, who have recently made the case 
 of Col. Burr the subject of conversation among 
 themselves, and of special prayer. They have 
 reminded each other that he is the grandson of 
 the excellent and distinguished Jonathan Edwards, 
 " whose praise is in all the churches ;" that he is 
 the son of a pious father and mother, who were 
 taken from him by death, leaving him an orphan 
 in his infancy; and, though he has long led an 
 abandoned life, and apparently turned his back 
 on the God of his fathers, yet these pious, pray- 
 ing ladies say they cannot but hope that yet 
 there may be mercy in store for him, as " the 
 seed of the righteous.'' To their credit be it 
 said, Christian mothers are always inclined to take 
 a strong hold of the promises to parents on be- 
 half of their children, and, in the instance of 
 such a man as Col. Burr, they think there is 
 something to be hoped from the assurance — " I 
 will be a God to thee and to thy seed after 
 thee." 
 
 But here the question arose, what means 
 should be used on his behalf? How is he to be 
 
88 Recollections of 
 
 reached ? He is never seen in a cliurch, where 
 he might be subdued by the power of a preach- 
 ed Gospel. He is found in no religious society ; 
 on the contrary, all his associations and accom- 
 paniments seem to be of a character to remove 
 him from any religious influences. 
 
 It seems the ladies came, at length, to the 
 conclusion, that some one of the clergy in the 
 city should be selected to call upon him, and 
 make a serious and solemn appeal to him on the 
 subject of his responsibilities, and the sin of his 
 past and pi-esent mode of life. Last Tuesday 
 
 morning Mrs. N and Mrs. J called 
 
 to inform me that, after a full discussion, the 
 ladies had unanimously fixed on me as the cler- 
 gyman who should be requested to undertake the 
 delicate and difficult task. I objected to the 
 selection, as I was far from being the oldest or 
 best known among the clergy of the city. But 
 I soon found they had come determined not to be 
 denied, and my respect for their well-known piety 
 and intelligence led me to promise that I would 
 comply with their request as I best could, in the 
 hope that, if no good was done, at least no harm 
 could result. I have made my visit, and God 
 
Persons and Events. 89 
 
 only knows what impression may have been made 
 on the mind of the man ; but it certainly became, 
 at last, a most affecting scene to both of us. 
 
 It was in the evening that I called on him. 
 He was at tea ; and yet, when I sent in my name, 
 he at once met me in the hall and asked me 
 into his parlor, expressing, with much politeness, 
 his pleasure in seeing me; all which would, per- 
 haps, have been expected by those who were ac- 
 quainted with his habitual comity. He invited 
 me to join him in a cup of what he said was, 
 to him, "tired Nature's sweet restorer." Tea, he 
 added, was every thing to him, and that he often 
 went on sipping it through a whole evening. I 
 hoped he would not break in upon this habit be- 
 cause I happened to be present, and, accordingly, 
 tea was before us during the greater part of our 
 conversation. Perhaps it may have rendered our 
 interview the more free and easy; for very free 
 it certainly was. I kept nothing back; neither 
 did he, so far as I could judge. 
 
 I am not surprised at the influence Col. Burr 
 is said always to acquire over those with whom 
 he converses. There is a charm, a fascination, 
 in his colloquial powers that I have never seen 
 
90 Recollections of 
 
 surpassed, if equalled. K he recounts his trav- 
 els, there is a graphic distinctness in his descrip- 
 tion of cities and scenery, that takes you at once 
 to the places; if he teUs you of his intercourse 
 with distinguished men, he gives you a picture 
 of their appearance, their tones of voice, their 
 whole manner, so that you see them before you 
 and hear them speak ; and in such exhibition of 
 men and things, he was exceedingly interesting 
 during the early part of our interview. 
 
 At length I took occasion to observe that as 
 he was again in New York, it was seen that his 
 interest in scenes abroad had not entirely wean- 
 ed his mind from his own country, and that he 
 might be pleased to know that there were friends 
 who took a deep interest in his welfare, where 
 he would, perhaps, not be likely to expect it. 
 He paused and looked at me with an eager ex- 
 pression of face, evidently expecting from me some 
 further explanation of my remark. I at once 
 stated to him the occasion and object of my visit, 
 and at whose request it was made. While I 
 was speaking, and, no doubt, with considerable 
 emotion on my own part, he seemed completely 
 absorbed in his attention to what I was sayino-, 
 
Persons and Events. 91 
 
 and when I paused, he exclaimed, " Do I under- 
 stand you rightly ? Do you say that these 
 Christian ladies — and with the husbands of some 
 among them I have formerly been acquainted — 
 have thought of Aaron Burr with kindness, and 
 have made me a subject of their prayers for 
 Divine mercy on my behalf? It is what I little 
 expected; and, as a gentleman, I thank them for 
 their kind remembrance of me. Be so good as 
 to assure them of i . But, sir, I fear it is all 
 in vain. I fear they are asking Heaven for what 
 Heaven has not in store for me." 
 
 "They do not take that view of your case, 
 Col. Burr," I replied; "and now that we are so 
 singularly thrown together, will you allow me 
 to speak plainly, though I hope kindly, on the 
 subject r 
 
 "Certainly, certainly, most certainly," he an- 
 swered, with strong emphasis ; " why should I 
 not? You can have but one motive in holding 
 this interview. Let me hear what you would 
 say. You have met me with a look of kind- 
 ness; you speak to me in tones of kindness. I 
 do not so often meet with this from gentlemen 
 in New- York as to cast it behind me. Speak 
 
92 Recollections of 
 
 plainly to me, and I will speak plainly to 
 you." 
 
 I at once asked, " Where am I to begin ? 
 Must I inquire, in the words of Paul, 'King 
 Agrippa, believest thou the prophets V And may 
 I add, ' I know that thou believest V Do you 
 believe in the truth and inspiration of the 
 Bible ? 
 
 He replied, " I suppose I am generally con- 
 sidered an infidel. But I am not an infidel, 
 in the proper sense of the word. I will not so 
 disparage my own power to judge of evidence as 
 to deny that the Bible is true. The only real 
 infidel is the man who does not think, and be- 
 cause he is afraid to think. We will pro- 
 ceed on the supposition that the Bible is to 
 be believed." 
 
 I expressed my pleasure at hearing him say 
 so ; and upon alluding to his religious ancestry, 
 through many generations, I dwelt especially on 
 the deep piety of his mother, and on her hopes 
 and anxieties for him at his birth, when he was 
 first placed in her arms, and her prayers that the 
 mantle of the father might fall upon the son. I 
 referred to his extreme illness when he was yet 
 
Persons and Events. 93 
 
 in infancy, to the agony which his mother felt 
 at the thought that she would then have to part 
 with him, and to the strong effort of her faith 
 when she endeavored to surrender him to God, 
 in the hope that whether he should die or live, 
 she might meet him in heaven. I alluded, also, 
 to the persevering efforts made by ministers of 
 the Gospel, when he had become an orphan, to 
 train him up in the way he should go; and re- 
 marked that he well knew how far he had sur- 
 rendered himself to evil courses, and in what utter 
 forgetfulness of God his whole life had been 
 spent. 
 
 As I dwelt on these topics, especially when I 
 spoke of his mother, his agitation became intense. 
 He shook like a leaf, and his breast heaved 
 as though it could not contain his swelling 
 emotions. 
 
 After a paiise, perhaps a minute or two, during 
 which I waited for him to speak, he said, with 
 quite a mild tone, "Perhaps you would like to 
 proceed. You know we are to speak without 
 restraint. I take it all well, for I know it is 
 well meant." 
 
 I answered that there was another topic to 
 
94 RE.COLLECTIONS OF 
 
 which I wished to alhide, and yet I scarcely knew 
 how to name it. 
 
 "I wish to hear you," he replied. 
 
 I then asked, "Do you not feel that there is 
 some resemblance between yourself and the sin- 
 ning Manassah, who forsook the God of his fa- 
 thers, and as a punishment for his sin lost his 
 former high place, and was scourged with thorns 
 to awake him to a sense of his apostasy? And 
 has not a judgment lighted upon you to which 
 even Manassah may have been a stranger? Col. 
 Burr, I have spoken of your parents. Let me 
 allude to your child, your only child, your be- 
 loved daughter. Where is she ?* Is there no 
 voice that speaks to you from the deep, deep 
 sea, warning you, entreating you to turn, and 
 seek forgiveness through that blood which cleans- 
 eth from all sin? These multiplied judgments 
 have a voice that surely cannot be misunder- 
 stood." 
 
 When Colonel Burr arrived in America, his daughter, and only 
 child, Mrs. Ashton, anxious to meet her father, embarked, in Decem- 
 ber, 1812, from South Carolina, in a pilot-boat distinguished for its 
 speed as a sailer, bound to New York. The vessel was never heard 
 of after leaving port. It was supposed that she foundered in a gale 
 which swept the whole coast that winter, and that all on board 
 perished. 
 
Persons and Events. 95 
 
 When I thus alluded to his daughter and her 
 tragical end, his heartrending moans and gushing 
 tears so overcame me that I felt little inclined 
 to proceed further at the time. There was a long 
 pause, and he at length observed : 
 
 " You are doing nothing more than your duty, 
 and I am the more pleased with you for doing it 
 so fully. This is a new scene for me. You have 
 opened fountains that have long been dry, and 
 that, perhaps, I may have thought were dried 
 up forever. 
 
 " It is true, it is true," he added, " judgments 
 have followed me for years — judgments in every 
 form, in the heaviest forms, till I am left alone, 
 alone of all that loved me as father or near 
 relative. There is a desolation here," he added, 
 laying his hand on his heart, " that none but the 
 Searcher of hearts can understand." 
 
 " I am aware," I replied, " of the desolate 
 hearthstone that meets your eye. Is there no 
 significance in that aspect of your sorrows 
 which points out a sin for which you should 
 humble yourself before God?" 
 
 As I made the remark his eye suddenly as- 
 sumed a fierce glare, but it soon passed away; 
 
96 Rkcollections of 
 
 and he went on, with a saddened expression of 
 look and voice, and asked, "What would you 
 have me do ? How and where would you have 
 me turn?" 
 
 I answered, " Turn to Him who is exalted as a 
 Prince and a Saviour to give repentance to Israel 
 and forgiveness of sins, and who gave them even 
 to the men by whose wicked hands He was cru- 
 cified and slain. Take the example of the Pro- 
 digal, who, under a sense of his bereavements 
 and destitution, said, ' I will arise and go to my 
 father, and will say unto him. Father, I have 
 sinned against Heaven, and before thee.' Seek 
 His favor in the ordinances of His grace, wor- 
 shipping Him in the temples where His Gospel 
 is preached and His spirit given." 
 
 As I was here proceeding, he suddenly inter- 
 rupted me, saying, "You don't seem to know 
 how I am viewed by the religious public, or by 
 those who resort to your churches. ' Where is 
 there a man among all such Avith whom I would 
 be willing to meet, and who would welcome me 
 into his pew ? Of your own congregation, would 
 J. H., or J. S., or H. I. W., give me a seat ? 
 These are our merchant princes — men who give 
 
Persons and Events. 97 
 
 tone to Wall street, who fix tlie standard of 
 mercantile morals in our city. Would they 
 make Aaron Burr a welcome visitor to your 
 church? Eather, indeed, I may ask, would you 
 yourself do so ? How would you feel walking up 
 the aisle with me, and opening your pe^v-door 
 for my entrance?" 
 
 I instantly replied that I wished he would 
 tiy me, adding that such a thing -svould give me 
 pleasure. 
 
 " Then," he replied, " you would indulge your 
 feelings of kindness at the expense of your use- 
 fulness as the minister of your congregation. 
 Do you believe that such gentlemen as I have 
 named would be pleased, rather that they would 
 not be highly displeased, at seeing you do any 
 thing of the kind ?" 
 
 A new train of sentiment seemed to arise in 
 his mind as he was thus dwelling on the sen- 
 tence of exclusion which he considered as having 
 been passed upon him. He arose from his 
 chair, paced the room, and, with a haughty in- 
 dignation and a loud voice, exclaimed : 
 
 "There are men who join in this system of 
 proscription, who ought to be well aware that I 
 
98 Recollections of 
 
 know enough of them and their condition to hurl 
 them into poverty, if I' would only undertake the 
 task. I could strip them of the very houses in 
 which they and their families live, and turn them 
 into the street. The title to much of the prop- 
 erty now held by the rich men of our city would 
 not bear to be sifted. I know all about it ; and 
 I may be induced some day to show what I am 
 able to do in the matter." 
 
 I observed that I was not competent to 
 judge of such questions, and that, besides, they 
 were far removed from the object of my visit. 
 He instantly resumed his seat, and with that su- 
 avity of manner peculiarly his own, he apologized 
 for the course his thoughts had taken, adding 
 that Ms spirit felt so chafed at times, by the 
 circumstances in which he found himself, that he 
 was not always as self-possessed as he could de- 
 sire. "I once," he added, "had the credit of 
 such selfpossession that nothing could disturb 
 or overthrow it. I have less of it now. Age 
 and sorrow combined wear away the strength of 
 the strongest." 
 
 I replied that there is but one balm for a 
 lacerated and sore heart, but one physician that 
 
Persons and Events. 99 
 
 can heal it ; and I went on at considerable length, 
 endeavoring to set before him the fulness of the 
 redemption that is by Jesus Christ ; the free invi- 
 tation which the Gospel addresses to all sinners, 
 to the chief of sinners ; and how utterly without 
 excuse all are left who reject so free an offer 
 of so precious a salvation." 
 
 He seemed to hear me patiently and attentive- 
 ly, and observed, in reply: "This is all true, and 
 how strongly it reminds me of my early days ! It 
 seems as if I heard good Dr. Bellamy again speak- 
 ing to me. But I fear such appeals will have as 
 little effect upon the old man as they had on the 
 wayward youth. If there is any such good yet 
 before me, as you, sir, seem to desire, it must reach 
 me at last in virtue of my birth from religious 
 parentage, which you justly observed it has been 
 my lot to have, as a birthright." 
 
 It had now become late in the evening, and I 
 arose to bid him good-by. He looked at me very 
 steadfastly, and observed : " I am far from being 
 wearied of this conversation. On the contrary, I 
 will preserve a grateful recollection of it. I sin- 
 cerely thank you for this visit, and, if it does me 
 no good, I am anxious it should do you no harm. 
 
100 Recollections of 
 
 I hope that you will not mistake my motive in 
 what I am about to say. I know who some of the 
 men are to whom you sustain intimate relations- 
 They entertain the most unfavorable opinion of me 
 in every respect, and would not fail to mark it 
 against every one who would treat me with any 
 open avowal of good-will or civility. It would 
 be to your detriment if such men should see you 
 accost me in the public street, with the expression 
 of regard that your kindness might prompt. 
 When we meet in any of our great thoroughfares, 
 it is best that we should not see each other. Do 
 you understand me?" he asked. 
 
 I replied that I fully appreciated his motives, 
 though I could not see the necessity for the re- 
 quest; but that, of course, I should regulate my 
 conduct in the matter by his wishes. 
 
 " Excuse me," he said, " I am the best judge." 
 
 He accompanied me to the door, and, as we 
 bade good-night, he offered me his hand; it was 
 cold, as though he had been a corpse. I left 
 him with my heart heavy and sad. What may 
 have been the state of his own, the Searcher of 
 all hearts best knows. 
 
 After an interview like this, I was not likely 
 
Persons and Events. 101 
 
 soon to forget Col. Burr, though I saw him but 
 seldom. He continued for ■ several vears to re- 
 side in New York, with more or less practice in 
 his profession ; but was finally struck with pa- 
 ralysis while walking in the street, and, after a 
 brief interval, was taken to Staten Island, where 
 he died in obscurity, few, if any, to drop a tear 
 over his remains. He was visited, on his death- 
 bed, by a minister of the Gospel, \ . ho placed be- 
 fore him the great truth that " Christ Jesus came 
 into the world to save sinners." With Avhat 
 effect, is a question which must be left to the 
 Judge of all, whose "judgments are true and 
 righteous altogether." 
 
 Such reverses as overtook Col. Burr are very 
 marked and unusual. He had been once a 
 leading man among the leading men of our State 
 He had reached the Vice-Presidency of the Uni- 
 ted States, and in that honorable office had pre- 
 sided over the Senate, when it comprised many of 
 the first men of the nation. And yet, from this 
 high eminence in public esteem, how low did he 
 sink! During his sojourn in foreign countries, 
 it is said, he was often in such poverty as to be 
 on the eve of begging his bread. When he 
 
102 Recollections of 
 
 ventured back to his native land, the scene of 
 his former greatness and honors, his return was 
 considered as a public grievance, and he was 
 shunned by many as a culprit, whose presence 
 contaminated the very air around him. 
 
 What a lesson ! The crime which was most 
 habitually predominant in the life of Col. Burr 
 is so well known that there can be no occasion 
 to mention it, and his example may well be 
 quoted " to point a moral," if not to " adorn a 
 tale." 
 
Persons and Events. 103 
 
 CHAPTER VII. 
 
 Col. Henry Rutgers — His character. — His devotion to the 
 
 CAUSE OF THE COUXTRY IN THE AMERICAN REVOLUTION. HiS 
 
 LIBERALITY TO THE CAUSE OF RELIGION. STRIKING INCIDENT 
 
 SHOWING HIS WISE JUDGMENT IN DEEDS OF BENEVOLENCE. 
 
 Duty of our merchants and others to young men in their 
 
 EMPLOY. 
 
 A FEW days since we committed to the grave 
 the remains of Col. Henry Rutgers. He had 
 lived to a good old age, and was not onlj- 
 venerable in years, but universally respected and 
 beloved for his active philanthropy, his pure pa- 
 triotism, and his devoted piety. He left a high 
 record in both Church and State. In his early 
 days, he and his family devoted themselves to 
 the cause of the country in the Revolutionarj' 
 War; and he often referred to the circumstance, 
 though with much tenderness, yet with a feeling 
 of exultation, that his brother Herman was the 
 first American that fell at the battle of Long 
 Island. The family property was a farm in the 
 eastern section of the city, including the greater 
 
104 Recollections op 
 
 part of what is now known as the Seventh 
 ward; and I remember his telling me, that 
 when flying from his home, at the approach of 
 the British to take possession of the city, as he 
 reached a hill overlooking his estate, he turned and 
 took what he thought might be a last survey 
 of it, and said to himself, "If all must go, and 
 my life with it, as the price of freedom to my 
 country, I will make the sacrifice freely and 
 without hesitation." 
 
 Happily, the sacrifice was not required. After 
 having served as an officer during the war, he 
 returned to his estate, and enjoyed it through a 
 long and useful life. 
 
 His religion was as conspicuous as his patriot- 
 ism. He devoted much of his time and of his 
 large means to promote the cause of Christiani- 
 ty, and he may well be acknowledged as the 
 founder of two churches in our city, that were 
 long known for their great strength and useful- 
 ness. 
 
 Much that he did, however, he loved to ac- 
 complish without show or the knowledge of the 
 public. Indeed, ijfc was one of his leading aims 
 "to do his alms in secret, not letting his left 
 
Persons and Events. 105 
 
 hand know what his right hand did." His pas- 
 tor, Rev. Dr. McMurray, has just related to me a 
 very striking incident, showing how much good 
 he accomplished during his long life, of which 
 none knew but himself, his Master, and the 
 receivers of his bounty. 
 
 It appears that many years ago, in the middle 
 of a severely cold winter night, Colonel Rutgers 
 was awaked by a violent rajjping at the door, 
 which startled the whole household. A servant 
 went down stairs to see what could be wanted 
 at so unseasonable an hour, when he found on 
 the steps a stranger, who said that he had call- 
 ed to see Colonel Rutgers. When told that he 
 could not see the Colonel at that time of niorht, 
 and the servant was about shutting the door in 
 his face, he pressed forward, and declared that 
 he would not leave the house alive unless he 
 could see him; that he must and would see 
 him, if he had to force his way into his bed- 
 chamber; that it was a matter of life and 
 death, and that no denial in the case would or 
 could be taken. The door being partly open, 
 Colonel Rutgers heard the excited language of 
 the man, and, judging from the tones of the 
 
106 Recollections of 
 
 speaker, that lie was not intoxicated, or some 
 idle ruffian who intended mischief, he told the 
 servant to let the man come into the house, and 
 that he would come down to see him. When 
 they entered the room together, the Colonel saw 
 before him a young man of prepossessing ap- 
 pearance, trembling with an agitation that beto- 
 kened great distress of mind, and with a wild 
 expression of eye that seemed bordering on 
 insanity. He asked to be alone with the Colonel 
 for a few minutes, which the Colonel was much 
 more willing to grant than the alarmed servant 
 was willing to leave the room. He obeyed his 
 master's direction, however, and retired into the 
 entry, not without keeping an anxious eye upon 
 the door, when the young man began, saying: 
 
 "I have a short but melancholy story to 
 tell you. Colonel Rutgers. I am the only son 
 of my mother, and she a widow, now livine 
 
 in county, with my sister, nearly grown to 
 
 womanhood, but in feeble health. "When I 
 came to this city, about six years ago, I was 
 employed as a clerk in a small retail store, 
 where I became acquainted with your friend 
 Mr. M., who, as you know, is an importing 
 
Persons and Events. 107 
 
 mercliant. He formed so favorable an opinion 
 of my business talents that he took me into his 
 employment; and for some time past I have 
 been his confidential clerk, and have received 
 from him what is usually considered a good 
 salary. Though my earnings were small when 
 I first came to New York, I have always been 
 careful to divide them with my mother ; and it 
 has been a constant source of happiness to me, 
 that, as my income increased, I could make the 
 greater addition to her comfort and that of my 
 sister. It is now about two years since, in an 
 evil hour, I was first tempted to spend some 
 money in going to the theatre, and I soon 
 became extravagantly fond of the amusement. 
 At the theatre I was led into bad company, 
 and have often sat late at the card-table, where 
 I was frequently the loser beyond my means of 
 paying. This led me to put my hand into the 
 drawer of my employer, and to embezzle sums 
 of no great amount in the beginning, but still 
 growing larger, with the hope that the tide of 
 fortune would turn, and I could soon replace 
 what I had taken. As ought to have been ex- 
 pected, things went on from bad t6 worse, until 
 
108 Recollections of 
 
 in the end I had purloined nearly two thousand 
 dollars. By various contrivances, I have made 
 out, so fai', to conceal my dishonesty ; but 
 matters have now reached a point where ex- 
 posure becomes inevitable to-morrow, unless I 
 can replace the money. I feel that I cannot 
 brook the shame. I cannot look Mr. M. in the 
 face, who has trusted me so far, and be con- 
 strained to confess that I have stolen his prop- 
 erty; and, to escape from the dilemma, I had 
 deliberately resolved to take my own life. I 
 had to-night written a letter to my poor 
 mother, telling her it was the last she would 
 ever receive from me, confessing my sin against 
 her and against God, and asking her to forgive 
 the son who had brought dishonor on her name, 
 and taken his life with his own hand. Having 
 finished the letter, I sat down in my chair, and 
 had actually placed the muzzle of this pistol 
 [showing it as he took it from his pocket] 
 against my temple, to shoot myself through the 
 head; when, as if with the suddenness of light- 
 ning, your name, Colonel Rutgers, came into my 
 mind. I had often heard Mr. M. speak of you 
 as a man of great kindness and benevolence ; 
 
Persons and Events. 10!) 
 
 and whetlier the suggestion came from an evil 
 spirit or a good spirit, I at once determined 
 that, before I committed the fatal deed asjainst 
 my own life, I would somehow find my way to 
 you, and make you acquainted with ray unhap- 
 py story. 
 
 " You have heard it, Colonel Eutgers ; I can- 
 not blame you if you do not believe a word of 
 it. It may appear to you as a fiction, devised 
 to get money from you, perhaps to be spent in 
 the same guilty way in which I have lost 
 money belonging to my employer. In one 
 thina: I am determined — never to face Mr. 
 M. again, unless I have the means of restoiing 
 what I have taken from him. Whether you 
 will come to the relief of a guilty prodigal like 
 myself, I must leave to your own heart to de- 
 termine. My fate is in your hands; I can 
 appeal to no one else." 
 
 During the time the young man was speak- 
 ing, Colonel Rutgers, as he said, watched his 
 countenance with great care, and became con- 
 vinced that he was telling the truth. Before 
 giving a direct reply, he asked him if he had 
 considered the great sin of appearing at the bar 
 
110 Recollections of 
 
 of God with his blood upon his own hands. 
 He answered that h6 was not ignorant of the 
 sin of self-murder, but that the dread of ex- 
 posure would still drive him to it, adding, 
 "Time presses, Colonel Eutgers, please let me 
 know your decision. Will you relieve me ?" 
 
 The Colonel waited some moments, during 
 which they stood facing each other, and at 
 length replied: "I will relieve you, on one con- 
 dition ; but I must have fall assurance that you 
 will comply with it." 
 
 "Name it, name it, dear sir," the young man 
 answered. " Should it be the cutting off my 
 hand, I will not hesitate an instant. You may 
 tell me of any thing in which I can please you. 
 Save me, save my poor mother, and I will serve 
 you during life, in any way or any work j'ou 
 can point out to me." 
 
 "The condition," said Colonel Rutsers, "is 
 simply this — ^that you will attend church with 
 me, regularly, during the space of one year, and 
 inform me every Sunday evening what you can 
 recollect of the sermons you have heard." 
 
 " Surely you would not mock me, Colonel 
 Rutgers !" the young man replied ; " but is that 
 
Persons and Events. Ill 
 
 all — is that all?" And, as he uttered these 
 words, he fainted and dropped on the floor. 
 
 After a time he revived, and, before leaving 
 the house. Colonel Rutgers appointed an early 
 hour the next morning to place the reqixisite 
 amount in his hands, and thus make his account 
 good. From that day onward the young man 
 was a regular and devout worshipper in the 
 Rutgers Street Church; and, before the end of 
 the year, he became a sincere convert to the 
 truth, and took his place by the side of his 
 benefactor at the Lord's table. His subsequent 
 life was not long, but in all respects such as his 
 friends could desire. He was soon admitted as 
 a junior partner in the house which he had 
 served as confidential clerk; and afterwards, 
 when performing a journey on business to the 
 South, he was taken with fever and died. His 
 life, however, was spared and prospered until 
 he was enabled to leave a handsome competency 
 to his mother and sister — his first earnings 
 having been applied to repay Colonel Rutgers 
 the sum lent to him in his extremity. 
 
 How many such deeds will rise up in the 
 records of eternity to illustrate the piety of 
 
112 Recollections of 
 
 this excellent man, the all-seeing God alone 
 knows. One thing Appears certain, that the 
 most of what he did in this way he saw fit 
 to keep to himself. His delicacy, too, was 
 as great as his modesty. To the last he 
 never disclosed the name of this young man 
 to his friends; and when he gave the narra- 
 tive to Dr. McMurray, he pleasantly added, 
 " You have the story, but j-ou must not 
 ask the name. The one illustrates the sove- 
 reign grace of God, and there is no need of 
 the other to make the lesson the more in- 
 structive or impressive." 
 
 The result of this kindness to an erring 
 young man was the " saving a soul from 
 death, and hiding a multitude' of sins;" and I 
 have often thought, that if like compassion 
 and relief were extended to our young men 
 when first led astray, many, many of them 
 would be saved fi-om the perdition that now 
 overtakes them. Our city is a vast mael- 
 strom, that is continually swallo\ving up thou- 
 sands and thousands of our youth Avho come 
 from the country seeking employment. With- 
 out parental watchfulness over them, they are 
 
Persons and Events. 113 
 
 often ensnared before they are aware of tLeir 
 
 danger. Many of them have been religiously 
 
 brought up, and, as the fniit of their first 
 
 misdeeds, conscience vrill rise and make itself 
 
 painfully felt. When suffering these pangs of 
 
 remorse, a youth, not yet hardened through 
 
 the deceitfulness of sin, would give worlds if 
 
 he could find a kind look, or a helping hand, 
 
 to encourage his return to the path of duty; 
 
 but when left to himself, under his painful 
 
 sense of abandonment, he goes on from bad 
 
 to worse, till, in despair, he gives up all for 
 
 lost, and perishes forever. 
 
 Our merchants should remember this. They 
 
 owe more to a young man in their employ, than 
 
 to see that he is always in his place at the 
 
 counting-room or the store. They are, in some 
 
 sense, responsible as his moral guardians, while 
 
 he is serving them; nor should they hastily cast 
 
 him off for his first offence, when it comes to 
 
 their knowledge. They should try to reclaim 
 
 him, remembering that a kind word, spoken in 
 
 season, may rescue him from the coils which the 
 
 tempter is beginning to \Yind around him, and 
 
 render him in after life the useful man and the 
 8 
 
114 Recollections of 
 
 sincere Christian; when a cold neglect or un- 
 pitying exposure may harden him in his sin, till 
 he becomes a felon or a still worse malefactor. 
 
 Col. Rutgers had no faith in legacies to the 
 cause of religion, and giving little or nothing 
 while a man lives. He would, he said, be his 
 own executor of what he felt it his duty to 
 give away for public purposes; and most faith- 
 fully did he act up to his resolution of liberali- 
 ty during his life. When he deemed an object 
 entitled to his patronage, if he had not the 
 money on hand he would borrow it, rather than 
 send the applicant "empty away." When that 
 excellent man. Dr. John H. Rice, was in the city, 
 soliciting aid for the Union Theological Semi- 
 nary in Virginia, he wished to call on Colonel 
 Rutgers, and desired me to accompany him. 
 When we made our call, and I had spoken of 
 Dr. Rice's object, the Colonel laughingly replied 
 that we found him unusually poor that day as 
 to ready cash; but if he had not money, he was 
 thankful he had credit. He accordingly asked 
 for Dr. Rice's book, and put down his name as 
 one of the most liberal subscribers, requesting 
 Dr. Rice to meet him at my house the next 
 
Persons and Events. 115 
 
 day, at eleven o'clock, wliicli would give him 
 time to go down to tlie bank. He met us at 
 the hour appointed and gave his check, with a 
 look, an expression of satisfaction, which, Dr. 
 Rice remarked, so comforted his heart that he 
 could go upon the strength of it many days 
 in the toilsome, wearying work of soliciting 
 subscriptions. This was the good Colonel's 
 way of doing good things. It gave him 
 pleasure to be liberal, and he felt obliged to 
 the man who enabled him to see where his 
 liberality would be of the greatest advantage 
 to the cause of Christ. Would that all our 
 men of wealth would be persuaded to taste 
 that luxury! 
 
116 Recollections of 
 
 CHAPTER VIII. 
 
 Death of John Quincy Adams. — Conspicuous features ix 
 
 his character. his undeviating adherence to what he 
 
 conceived to be right, exemplified in his appointments 
 
 TO OFFICE WHILE PRESIDENT OF THE UnITED StATES, ALSO 
 
 WHILE OUR Minister at the Court of the Netherlands. — 
 His great respect for the memory of his mother. — His 
 
 OPINION OF A mother's INFLUENCE ON THE CHARACTER OF 
 
 distinguished men. — Importance of the subject. — How 
 
 ILLUSTRATED IN HiSTORY BOTH SACRED AND PROFANE. SUS- 
 CEPTIBILITY OP EARLY CHILDHOOD TO A MOTHEr's INFLUENCE. 
 
 The death of the Hon. John Quincy Adams 
 created a sensation which was felt extensively 
 through the country. He was one of the Ex- 
 Presidents of the United States, had reached the 
 advanced age of eighty-two years, and from his 
 earliest manhood had borne a conspicuous part in 
 our political history, both foreign and domestic. 
 The manner and circumstances of his death ren- 
 dered the event the more solemn and impressive. 
 After hia Presidency he had been a member of the 
 House of Representatives for several years, and on 
 the morning of Monday, the 21st February, 1848, 
 having appeared as usual in his place, about twelve 
 
Persons and Events. 117 
 
 o'clock he fell from his chair, exclaiming " This is 
 the last of earth ! I am content !" He was car- 
 ried to the Speaker's room, and laid on a couch, 
 where he remained nearly two days till he 
 breathed his last, apparently unconscious during , 
 the interim. The House adjourned immediately 
 after his attack, and the adjournment was contin- 
 ued from day to day until his funeral solemnities 
 were, concluded. 
 
 Mr. Adams was a man little understood by 
 many. He had not generally much of the genial 
 manner and popular address which distinguished 
 his friend Clay and others of his time. He was 
 often so reserved and distant that many looked 
 upon him as cold and phlegmatic. I once thought 
 so of him myself, but on further acquaintance 
 I found that he had a warm heart, and could be 
 frank and cordial when occasion served. 
 
 It is not my part to describe his career as a 
 public man, or the services he rendered to his 
 country in the various offices he was called to fill. 
 But there are one or two features of his character 
 which were so prominent and so much to his 
 credit, that they should not be overlooked or for- 
 gotten when his name is mentioned. 
 
118 Recollections of 
 
 One was his undeviating integrity, his inflexi- 
 ble purpose to do what he thought was right. 
 It is well known that he carried this adherence 
 to principle so far as to have disappointed, per- 
 haps alienated some of his party friends. When 
 he became President of the United States, he 
 could not be induced to confer office as a reward 
 for mere partisan zeal. He looked on such a 
 policy as disastrous if not ruinous to our system 
 of Government. It may yet, he remarked one day, 
 convert our best offices of honor and emolument 
 into dens of thieves, in which corruption may 
 become so rife, and wrong so flagrant, as to incite 
 the people to violence if not to revolution, in 
 order to punish the culprits and rid themselves of 
 the evil. However earnestly he may have been 
 urged on the subject as a measure indispensable 
 to keep his party together, he was not the man to 
 sacrifice on the altar of expediency at the ex- 
 pense of principle.* 
 
 * Mr. Adams was not the only one of our Presidents who took 
 this honorable stand with regard to appointments. Washington's 
 conduct on the subject is well known. The course that Jeflferson 
 pursued was not only so wise, but so honorable to himself that we 
 give the following account of it, from the pen of a writer who 
 describes the state of things in the country when Jefferson became 
 
Persons and Events. 119 
 
 This had been his rule from the first of his 
 political career. As an instance of his fidelity to 
 
 President. " TVhile a very young man," lie says, '• we entored varmly 
 into politics, and joined the Tammany Society in Baltimore The 
 propriety of Mr. Jefferson's course in refusing to make a general 
 sweep of Federalists from office became a subject of discussion, and 
 it was finally proposed that the Society should send a remonstrance 
 to the President on the subject. A gentleman of high standing in 
 the Association, not only for his intelligence, but for his warmth of 
 party feeling, proposed that the wishes of '.the President's friends' 
 should be made known to him. He himself intended to visit 
 Montieello in the course of the ensuing summer, and, if authorized by 
 a vote of the Society, he would open the matter to the President on 
 some fitting occasion. This was agreed to. The gentleman discharged 
 his commission and made his report. He said he had stated to !Mr. 
 Jefferson the wishes of his friends in Baltimore, and was listened to 
 very respectfully, after which the President replied that he .should be 
 very glad to gratify his friends by turning the Federalists out of 
 office, and filling their places with those of his own party, but there 
 was an obstacle in the way which he could not remove, £( question 
 wliich he had not been able to solve. ' Perhaps,' he continued, ' you 
 can do this for me.' The gentleman despaired of solving any prob- 
 lem that puzzled Mr. Jefferson, but desired to hear what it was. 
 ' Well, sir,' said Mr. Jefferson, ' we are Republicans, and are con- 
 tending for the extension of the right of suffrage. Is it not so ?' 
 'Yes, sir,' was the reply. 'We would not, therefore,' said Mr. 
 Jefferson, ' put any restraint upon the right of suffrage as it already 
 exists.' ' By no means, sir,' answered our messenger. ' Tell me 
 then,' said Mr. Jefferson, ' what is the difference between denying 
 the right of suffrage, and punishing a man for exercising it by 
 turning him ont of office?' I could not answer Mr. Jefferson's 
 question, and had to leave him where I found him," said our friend 
 when he gave us an account of the interview. 
 
120 Recollections of 
 
 what lie felt to be his duty, I may refer to au 
 incident in his early history, which comes to us 
 well authenticated, although it may not be very 
 generally known. It is said that when Minister 
 at the Netherlands, and comparatively a youth, 
 he was invited to join the several Ambassadors 
 of different nations at that Court, in a gathering 
 for social enjoyment, in which cheerful con- 
 versation and different amusements bore a part. 
 Ouce they adjourned to a Sabbath evening. The 
 time came, and the Ambassadors collected, but 
 the American Minister was missing. It occa- 
 sioned inquiry and disappointment, but presum- 
 ing some special or insuperable obstacle prevent- 
 ed his attendance, they said little of the cir- 
 cumstance, and adjourned again to Sabbath 
 evening. But the American Ambassador did 
 not attend. The next meeting was on a week 
 day evening, and the American was in his 
 place. They were glad to see him, and signified 
 their disappointment at his previous absences. 
 Instead of making an apology, or assignino- a 
 fictitious reason, he frankly stated to them that 
 his principles would not allow him thus to 
 employ any part of the Sabbath. He was born 
 
Persons and Events. 121 
 
 in a country settled by Puritans, of Puritan 
 parents, who regarded the Sabbath as a divine 
 ordinance. He had witnessed the good influence 
 of its religious observance in the great intelli- 
 gence, the pure morals, the energy, enterprise, 
 and orderly habits of his countrymen. As a 
 friend of his country, therefore, he could not per- 
 vert the day or use it for other purposes than 
 those to which he had been taught to devote it 
 and seen it devoted, in whatever part of the 
 world he might be, or by whatever different 
 customs surrounded. 
 
 Now to those who know the sneering character 
 of most Sabbath breakers, and think of the age, 
 high rank and splendor of these men, in connection 
 with the youth of Mr. Adams, it would be difficult 
 to mention an incident of moral courage siiperior to 
 this. It seems to have completely overawed his 
 distinguished companions, for by instant and 
 general consent, they met no more on Sabbath 
 evenings. 
 
 Another point in his character which often 
 drew my attention, was his vivid and grateful rec- 
 ollection of his parents, especially of his mother. 
 She was confessedly a superior woman, fully de- 
 
122 Recollections of 
 
 serving all the respect and affection of her son, and 
 I have seen him often embracing the opportunity of 
 showing his warm devotion to her memory. The 
 sentiment seemed to grow stronger as he grew 
 older ; and I remember one occasion in his declin- 
 ing years, on which it showed itself very conspic- 
 uously. 
 
 There was a small company of us in New York, 
 who were in the habit of meeting weekly at each 
 other's houses for a social evening, and Mr. Adams 
 usually made his ari-angements to be with us when 
 he passed through the city. He there met such 
 men as Albert Gallatin, James Kent, and others 
 whom he could not but recognize as kindred spirits, 
 and in such society he appeared to great advantage. 
 On such occasions he would seem to have read 
 every thing and to have forgotten nothing ; and all 
 this varied information would come up to his mind 
 at the instant when the conversation called for it. 
 As Mr. Gallatin and himself had both long been 
 public men, and were familiar vnth leading states- 
 men and scholars of their day, they had much 
 in common to draw them out, and to render 
 them an interesting study for others. They were 
 about of the same height, both bald, with well de- 
 
Persons and Events. 123 
 
 veloped heads, and notwithstanding the collisions 
 of past years in the political arena, you could see in 
 every expression of their speaking countenances^ 
 not only that mellowed benevolence which is a 
 fitting ornament of old age, but a very hearty 
 delight in the company of each other. 
 
 Among other things which arose as the subject 
 of conversation one evening, was the influence of 
 early training by a mother or some female friend 
 taking a mother's place; which drew from Mr. 
 Adams the warm expression of filial feeling which 
 was so habitual with him. He roundly asserted 
 that no man could be expected to reach high and 
 lasting distinction in public or private life, unless 
 the seed from which the tree had sprung was 
 planted by a mother's hand. He referred to the 
 advantages he had enjoyed from maternal care and 
 wisdom in his early days, and when he spoke of 
 the deep impression which his mother had made on 
 the mind of her son, the tremulous tones of his 
 voice, and his tender feeling moved all present 
 nearly to tears, whUe no one seemed more affected 
 than Mr. Gallatin. He in his turn had something 
 to say on the subject. His mother had died when 
 he was but a child, but her place, he told us, was 
 
124 Recollections of 
 
 filled by a lady who so far adopted him as to ren- 
 der him unconscious of a mother's loss. After he 
 had spoken of her for some time with gi'eat feeling 
 Mr. Adams taking up the subject and rising from 
 his seat, remarked with great animation : " Gentle- 
 men, where should you look to find the surest sign 
 of a nation's future greatness and welfare ? Not so 
 muck to our Colleges and Universities, important 
 as they are in their places, but to our families and 
 our Female Seminaries, where the sex is being 
 trained whick will give its lasting impress to the 
 coming generations. "We think we govern the 
 ladies, but the ladies govern us — and it is well for 
 us that it is so. Among all the pungent sayings 
 of Bonaparte, there is none more true than Avhere 
 he remarked that ' the greatest want of France in 
 his day, was good mothers.'" 
 
 This sentiment was a favorite topic with Henry 
 Clay, to whom indeed both Mr. Adams and Mr. 
 Gallatin often referred in their conversation, always 
 showing those feelings of kindness as well as re- 
 spect, with which Mr. Clay had the peculiar faculty 
 of inspiring those who came within his reach. He 
 never forgot "The Slashes" where he spent his 
 boyhood under the care of a mother who spent her 
 
Persons and Events. 125 
 
 choice hours in giving shape to the mind and char- 
 acter of her son. Her image seemed to have been 
 always present to his mind, even among the most 
 exciting scenes of his life ; and it is said that the 
 last utterance that escaped from his lips when 
 dying, was " My Mother, Mother, Mother," his coun- 
 tenance in the mean time displaying an eager fond- 
 ness as if he saw her before him, and would fly to 
 her embraces. 
 
 The subject cannot well be over-rated. Great 
 nations as well as great men have viewed it as of 
 vital importance. In the days of Rome's greatest 
 splendor, there stood on one of the seven hills, a 
 temple dedicated to "Female Fortune;" and over 
 its magnificent portal was written the name of 
 Volumnia, in whose honor the temple had been 
 built, to perpetuate her memory as a matron who 
 had saved Rome by her influence over her sons. 
 Not far distant from it, arose a column, and there 
 was inscribed on it — "Cornelia, Mother of the 
 Gracchi" — in acknowledgment of her worth, as 
 the mother of two sons, whom she had trained to 
 be the ornaments and defenders of her nation. 
 Such was the respect paid to Mothers who acted 
 well their part in Pagan Rome. 
 
126 Recollections of 
 
 But we have memorials of the same import in 
 records, still more instructive than Rome can fur- 
 nish. A mother's influence for good or for evil is 
 presented to us with great variety of illustrations 
 in the Scriptures, Have we observed how fre- 
 quently they allude to the histories of the Mothers 
 of kings who reigned in Israel and Judah, when in 
 the days of national decline towards final ruin, the 
 throne passed in rapid succession from one king to 
 another who "did evil in the sight of the Lord?" 
 The career of guilt and declension was sometimes 
 checked by the appearance of some good king who 
 was a blessing to his nation. Such was Josiah, of 
 whom, as if to account for the character of the man, 
 we are told that " his mother's name was Jedidah," 
 its meaning at once announcing her piety and 
 worth. But on the other hand, when it names the 
 wicked and idolatrous kings who were the curse of 
 the nation, we are carefully told what were the 
 significant names of their mothers. Of Ahaziah, 
 the son of Ahab, " who did evil exceedingly in the 
 sight of the Lord," we are told that his mother was 
 Jezebel, " who stirred up his father to sin." In like 
 manner we are told of Jehoahaz, that " his mother's 
 name was Hamutal," and of Jehoiakim, that " his 
 
Persons and Events. 127 
 
 mother's name was Nehushtan." All this was to 
 show that the bane of the nation was found in the 
 nurseries of her kings, where their infant minds 
 were tainted and poisoned by their Jezebel moth- 
 ers ; and that being thus early led away into sin, 
 when in after life they gained the throne, their 
 baleful influence was felt in spreading -wickedness 
 around them till the nation was carried into cap- 
 tivity, and the land left a desolation. It was the 
 corrupt Queen-mothers, corrupting the minds of 
 their infant sons who were to be future kings, that 
 finally and mainly drew down the anger of God ; 
 nor was it till that fearful engine of evil had been 
 for generations at work, that hope finally perished. 
 On the other hand, if we consult the brightest 
 pages of Sacred History, we there find men whose 
 names and lives will be coequal with time itself 
 as blessings to the nation and the world. And 
 what do we find as to their parentage ? No man 
 among the lawgivers and leaders of nations stands 
 superior to Moses; and of his mother it is said, 
 "she feared not the king's commandment," but 
 trained up her son to know and serve the Lord. 
 Under a like happy influence was the childhood 
 and youth of David passed, and how tender is his 
 
128 Recollections of 
 
 acknowledgment of it in his subsequent days of 
 power and fame, in the words, " O Lord, truly I am 
 thy servant ; I am thy servant and the son of thy 
 handmaid — I will offer to thee the sacrifices of 
 thanksgiving." John, the forerunner of our Lord, 
 is said to have had none " greater than himself of 
 aU who had been bom of women before him." 
 His mother was Elizabeth, "walking in all the 
 commandments of the Lord blameless." Among 
 the apostles of our Lord was one noted as a son of 
 thunder, and another, privileged to lean on his 
 Master's bosom. We must be told who was their 
 mother in order to account for their distinction 
 among the twelve. Who, let me ask, was the 
 mother of our Lord himself? Mary, to whom the 
 salutation from Heaven was given : " Hail, thou 
 that art highly favored, the Lord is with thee: 
 blessed art thou among women ;" thus in His own 
 example, showing it to be HLs will, that whatever 
 is pure and holy and noble and great in manhood 
 must be first matured under a mother's piety and 
 faithfulness. 
 
 It must be so. The line of the poet has become 
 a proverb which tells us, 
 
 " Jnst as the twig is bent, the tree's inclined." 
 
Persons and Events. 129 
 
 and who but the mother bends the twig ? She has 
 the mind and character in her hand while it is yet 
 so flexible and ductile, that it can be led into any 
 direction or formed into any shape. The delicacy 
 of her nature, so characteristic of her sex, fits her 
 peculiarly for the delicacy of the task. There is a 
 hardness or a want of sensitiveness with man, 
 arising partly from his nature, and partly from his 
 occupations in life, that in some degree disqualifies 
 the father from reaching and winning the infant 
 mind. It shiinks from his strong grasp, while it 
 will resign itself gladly to the soft hand of a 
 mother's care. It is the mother also who is always 
 with her child if she is where mothei's ought to 
 be ; she must see continually the workings of its 
 nascent faculties, where they most need to be 
 restrained, and where led and attracted. Early as 
 she may begin her task, she may be assured that 
 her labor will not be lost because undertaken too 
 soon. Mind, from the hour of its creation, is always 
 acting, and soon she will see that carefully as she 
 is studying her child, quite as carefully is her 
 child studying her. Let her watch the varying 
 expression of its speaking face, and she will per- 
 ceive the young mind imbibing impressions from 
 
130 Recollections of 
 
 every thing it sees her do or hears her say. Let 
 her watch on too, and when, under her care, the 
 expanding faculties have begun to display them- 
 selves in the sportiveness of play, she will be often 
 surprised to find the elements of character already 
 fixed when she little expected it. She has but to 
 watch for it, and she will find the embryo poet or 
 orator or warrior with her in the nursery; and 
 what he is to be in any of these stations which he 
 is yet to fill, she must then decide. It is a law of 
 our being which makes it so, a law which I would 
 were written by the finger of God on every 
 mother's heart, a law which teaches that the mind 
 of childhood is like wax to receive, but like marble 
 to hold, the impressions upon it, be they for good or 
 for evil. 
 
Persons and Events. 131 
 
 CHAPTER IX. 
 
 Era of Bible Societies. — Rev. Mr. Charles, of Bala. — Origin 
 OF THE British and Foreign Bible Society. — Hon. Elias 
 BouDiNOT. — Convention to form the American Bible 
 SociETy. — Address op the Convention to the Public. — 
 Multiplication of the Scriptures bv means of Bible 
 Societies. — The Bible the first book printed with type.s. — 
 Improvement in the art of Printing within the last 
 fifty years. — Superiority of the English Translation of 
 the Bible. — Piesponsibility of England and America for 
 the spread of Christianity and Civilization. 
 
 The formation of Bible Societies is one of the 
 most important eras in tlie history of the Church. 
 The great Parent Institution, the British and 
 Foreign Bible Society was formed in 1804, and is 
 said to owe its origin to a simple occurrence which 
 is to be numbered among many examples showing 
 how great results often spring from small begin- 
 nings. 
 
 The Rev. Mr. Charles, of Bala in Wales, as 
 we are told, was walking in one of the streets of 
 the town, when he met a child who attended his 
 ministry. He inquired if, she could repeat the 
 text from which he had preached on the preceding 
 
132 Recollections of 
 
 Sabbath. Instead of giving a prompt reply, as 
 she had been accustomed to do, she remained 
 silent. " Can you not tell the text, my little girl ?" 
 repeated Mr. Charles. The child wept, but was 
 still silent. At length she said, "The weather, 
 sir, has been so bad that I could not get to read 
 the Bible." This remark surprised the good man 
 and he exclaimed, " Could not get to read the 
 Bible ! — how was that ?" The reason was soon 
 ascertained ; there was no copy to which she 
 could gain access, either at her own home or among 
 her friends ; and she was accustomed to travel 
 every week seven miles over the hills to a place 
 whei'e she could obtain a Welsh Bible, to read the 
 chapter from which the minister took his text ; 
 but during that week the cold and stormy weather 
 had prevented her usual journey. 
 
 Not long after this occurrence, Mr. Charles 
 being in London, mentioned this touching incident 
 to some of his friends. The result was a meet- 
 ing which formed the British and Foreign Bible 
 Society; and from that time onward, the circula- 
 tion of the Scriptures " without note or comment" 
 took a new hold of the Protestant mind throughout 
 Christendom. In our own country various local 
 
Persons and Events. 133 
 
 societies of circumscribed extent and limited 
 means, sprang into existence, until very few of our 
 cities or States were without some organization 
 of the kind ; but they were not united or affilia- 
 ted under a common head. The happy effects of 
 this combination had been fully demonstrated in 
 England ; the more local societies in that country 
 giving strength to the Parent Institution by their 
 union with it ; as tributaiy streams give compass, 
 depth, and force to the river in which they are 
 united. But though we had this example before 
 us, various considerations for a time led many to 
 believe that such a harmony of action would be 
 impracticable in a nation spread over so wide a 
 territory and so diversified in their views and 
 tastes as ourselves. A more careful examination, 
 however, led to the conviction that these objections 
 were without foundation, and that a National Bible 
 Institution in this country could be made quite as 
 efficient as in England. 
 
 The Hon. Elias Boudinot, of Burlington, New 
 Jersey was a leading man in the movement. 
 His name was extensively known and greatly 
 respected throughout the^ country as a true Chris- 
 tian, and a wise counsellor. He had been a mem- 
 
134 Recollections of 
 
 ber of tlie United States Congress, during the 
 greater part of the American Revolution, in 
 1782 was elected President of that distinguished 
 assembly, and had the honor, as such, of signing 
 the Treaty of Peace with Great Britain in which 
 the independence of the United States was ac- 
 knowledged. He afterwards filled various offices 
 of high importance and honor, and in matured 
 years retired from public life, devoting himseK to 
 the study of Biblical Literature, and the exercise 
 of a kind and munificent liberality. 
 
 The establishment of a National Bible Society 
 had long been the subject of anxious desire with 
 him. He now made it the great object of his life 
 to create a sound public sentiment on the subject, 
 and to persuade the various Bible Societies through- 
 out the country, to send delegates to a Convention 
 which might discuss and decide upon the wisdom 
 of the measure he had so much at heart. In May, 
 1816, his object was accomplished. The Conven- 
 tion then assembled in New York, comprising 
 many of our best and ablest men from the ranks of 
 both the Clergy and Laity. After due delibera- 
 tion, a Constitution was adopted, together with a 
 public address to the inhabitants of the United 
 
Persons ash Events. 13-5 
 
 States soliciting their co-operation. The address 
 was from the pen of Dr. Mason. He struck it off 
 at a sitting, and, as he told me, he spent nearly 
 a whole night writing it. For concentration of 
 thought, and powerful appeal, it is one of the 
 best among the many good things which he has 
 written, and had a very happy effect upon the 
 public mind. It furnishes so fine a specimen of 
 the man, and at the same time so hajDpily portravs 
 the spirit with which the work was commenced, 
 that I here subjoin it. It is as follows. 
 
 " To THE People of the Uxited States. 
 
 "Every person of observation has remarked that 
 the times are pregnant with great events. The 
 political world has undergone changes stupendous, 
 unexpected, and calculated to inspire thoughtful 
 men with the most boding anticipations. 
 
 " That there are in reserve, occurrences of deep, 
 of lasting, and of general interest, appears to be the 
 common sentiment. Such a sentiment has not 
 been excited without a cause, and does not exist 
 without an object. The cause is to be sought in 
 that Providence which adapts, with wonderful 
 exactitude, means to ends; and the object is too 
 
136 Recollections of 
 
 plain to be mistaken by those who cany a sense of 
 religion into their speculations, upon the present 
 and the future condition of our afflicted race. 
 
 " An excitement, as extraordinary as it is power- 
 ful, has roused the nations to the importance of 
 spreading the knowledge of the one living and 
 true God, as revealed in His Son, the Mediator be- 
 tween God and men, Christ Jesus. This excite- 
 ment is the more worthy of notice, as it has 
 followed a period of philosophy, falsely so called, 
 and has gone in the track of those very schemes 
 which, under the imposing name of reason and 
 liberality, were attempting to seduce mankind from 
 all which can bless the life that is, or shed a cheer- 
 ing radiance on the life that is to come. 
 
 " We hail the reaction, as auspicious to whatever 
 is exquisite in human enjoyment, or precious to 
 human hope. We would fly to the aid of all that 
 is holy, against all that is profane; of the purest 
 interests of the community, the family, and the 
 individual, against the conspiracy of darkness, dis- 
 aster and death — to help on the mighty work of 
 Christian Charity — to claim our place in the age of 
 Bibles. 
 
 " We have, indeed, the secondary praise, but still 
 
Peesoxs and Events. 137 
 
 the praise, of treading in the footsteps of those who 
 have set an example without a parallel — an exam- 
 ple of the most unbounded benevolence and benefi- 
 cence ; and it cannot be to us a source of any pain, 
 that it has been set by those who are of one blood 
 ^vith the most of ourselves ; and has been embodied 
 in a form so noble and so Catholic, as ' The British 
 and Foreign Bible Society.' 
 
 "The impulse which that institution, ten thou- 
 sand times more glorious than all the exploits of 
 the sword, has given to the conscience of Eui'ope, 
 and to the slumbering hope of millions in the 
 region and shadow of death, demonstrates to Chris- 
 tians of every country what they cannot do by 
 isolated zeal ; and what they can do by co-operation. 
 
 "In the United States we want nothing but 
 concert to perform achievements astonishing to our- 
 selves, dismaying to the adversaries of truth and 
 piety, and most encouraging to eveiy evangelical 
 effort, on the surface of the globe. 
 
 " No spectacle can be so illustrious in itself, so 
 touching to man, or so grateful to God, as a nation 
 pouring forth its devotion, its talent, and its 
 treasures, for that kingdom of the Saviour which is 
 righteousness and peace. 
 
138 Recollections of 
 
 " If there be a sinojle measure which can over- 
 rule objection, subdue ' oi:)positiou, and command 
 exertion, this is the measure. That all our 
 voices, all our affections, all our hands, should 
 be joined in the grand design of promoting ' peace 
 on earth and good-will toward man' — that thev 
 should resist the advance of misery — should 
 cany the light of instruction into the dominions 
 of ignorance; and the balm of joy to the soul 
 of anguish ; and all this by diffusing the oracles 
 of God — addresses to the understaudins; an ariju- 
 ment which cannot be encountered ; and to the 
 heart an appeal which its holiest emotions lise up 
 to second. 
 
 " Under such impressions, and with such views, 
 fathers, brethren, fellow-citizens, the American 
 Bible Society has been foi-med. Local feelings, 
 party prejudices, sectarian jealousies, are excluded 
 by its very nature. Its members are leagued in 
 that, and in that alone, which calls up every hal- 
 lowed, and puts down eveiy unhallowed principle 
 — the dissemination of the Scriptures in the 
 received versions where they exist, and in the most 
 faithful where they may be required. In such a 
 work, whatever is dignified, kind, venerable, true. 
 
Persons and Events. 139 
 
 has ample scope; while sectarian littleness and 
 rivalries can find no avenue of admission. 
 
 " The only question is, whether an object of such 
 undisputed magnitude can be best attained by a 
 National Society, or by independent associations in 
 friendly understanding and correspondence. 
 
 "Without entering into the details of this 
 inquiry, we may be permitted to state, in a few 
 words, our reasons of preference to a National Soci- 
 ety supported by local Societies, and by individ- 
 uals throughout our country. 
 
 " Concentrated action is powerful action. The 
 same powers, when applied by a common direction, 
 will produce results impossible to theii' divided and 
 partial exercise. Unity of a great system, com- 
 bines energy of effort with economy of means. 
 Accumulated intelligence interests and animates 
 the public mind, and the catholic efforts of a 
 country, thus harmonized, give her a place in the 
 moral convention of the world ; and enable her to 
 act directly upon the universal plans of happiness 
 which are now pervading the nations. 
 
 " It is true, that the prodigious territory of the 
 United States — ^the increase of their population, 
 which is gaining every day upon their moral culti- 
 
140 Recollections of 
 
 vation — and the dreadful consequences whicli will 
 ensue from a people's Outgrowing the knowledge of 
 eternal life, and reverting to a species of heathen- 
 ism, which shall have all the address and profligacy 
 of civilized society, without any religious control, 
 present a sphere of action, which may for a long 
 time employ and engross the cares of this Society, 
 and of all the local Bible Societies of the land. 
 
 " In the distinct anticipation of such an urgency, 
 one of the main objects of the American Bible 
 Society is, not merely to provide a sufficiency of 
 well printed and accurate editions of the Scrip- 
 tures; but also to furnish great districts of the 
 American Continent Avith well executed stereotype 
 plates, for their cheap and extensive diflFusion 
 throughout regions which are now scantily sup- 
 plied, at a discouraging expense ; and which, never- 
 theless, open a wide and prepared field for the 
 reception of revealed trath. 
 
 "Yet, let it not be supposed, that geographical or 
 political limits are to be the limits of the Amer- 
 ican Bible Society. That designation is meant to 
 indicate, not the restriction of their labor, but the 
 source of its emanation. They will embrace, with 
 thankfulness and pleasure, every opportunity of 
 
Persons and Events. 141 
 
 raying out, by means of the Bible, according to 
 their ability, the light of life and immortality, to 
 such parts of the world as are destitute of the 
 blessing, and are within their reach. In this high 
 vocation, their ambition is to be felloAv-workers 
 with them who are fellow- workers with God. 
 
 "People of the United States: 
 
 " Have you ever been invited to an enterprise of 
 such grandeur and glory ? Do you not value the 
 Holy Scriptures ? Value them as containing your 
 sweetest hope ; your most thrilling joy ? Can you 
 submit to the thought that you should be torpid in 
 your endeavors to disperse them, while the rest of 
 Christendom is awake and alert ? Shall you hang 
 back in heartless indifference, when Princes come 
 down from their thrones, to bless the cottage of the 
 poor with the gospel of peace ; and Imperial Sov- 
 ereigns are gathering their fairest honors from 
 spreading abroad the oracles of the Lord your 
 God? Is it possible that you should not see, in 
 this state of human things, a mighty motion of 
 Divine Providence? The most Heavenly charity 
 treads close upon the march of conflict and blood ! 
 The world is at peace ! Scarce has the soldier time 
 
142 Recollections of 
 
 to unbind his helmet, and to wipe away the sweat 
 from his brow, ere the voice of mercy succeeds to 
 the clarion of battle, and calls the nations from 
 enmity to love ! Crowned heads bow to the Head 
 which is to wear " many crowns ;" and, for the first 
 time since the promulgation of Christianity, appear 
 to act in unison for the recoscnition of its OTacious 
 principles, as being fraught alike with happiness to 
 man and honor to God. 
 
 " What has created so strange, so beneficent an 
 alteration? This is no doubt the doing of the 
 Lord; it is marvellous in om* eyes. But what 
 instrument has he thought fit chiefly to use ? That 
 which contributes, in all latitudes and climes, to 
 make Christians feel their unity, to rebuke the 
 spirit of strife, and to open upon them the day of 
 brotherly concord — the Bible ! the Bible ! through 
 Bible Societies ! 
 
 " Come then, fellow-citizens, fellow-Christians, let 
 us join in the sacred covenant. Let no heart be 
 cold ; no hand be idle ; no purse reluctant ! Come, 
 while room is left for us in the ranks whose toil is 
 goodness, and whose recompense is victory. Come, 
 cheerfully, eagerly, generally. Be it impressed on 
 your souls, that a contribution, saved from even a 
 
Persons and Events. 143 
 
 cheap indulgence, may send a Bible to a desolate 
 family; may become a radiating point of 'grace 
 and truth' to a neighborhood of error and vice; 
 and that a number of such contributions, made at 
 really no expense, may illumine a large tract of 
 country, and successive generations of immortals, in 
 that celestial knowledge, which shall secure their 
 present and their future felicity. 
 
 " But whatever be the proportion between ex- 
 pectation and experience, this much is certain : We 
 shall satisfy our conviction of duty — we shall have 
 the praise of high endeavors for the highest ends — 
 we shall minister to the blessedness of thousands 
 and tens of thousands of whom we may never see 
 the faces, nor hear the names. We shall set for- 
 ward a system of happiness which w^ill go on with 
 accelerated motion and augmented vigor, after we 
 shall have finished our career ; and confer upon our 
 children, and our children's children, the delight 
 of seeing the wilderness turned into a fruitful field, 
 by the blessing of God upon that seed which their 
 fathers sowed and themselves watered. In fine, we 
 shall do our part toward that expansion and inten- 
 sity of light divine, which , shall visit, in its pro- 
 gress, the palaces of the great, and the hamlets of 
 
144 Recollections of 
 
 the small, until tlie whole 'earth be full of the 
 knowledge of Jehovah, as the waters cover the sea !' " 
 
 This powerful appeal met with a hearty response. 
 Indeed, the more the measure was contemplated, 
 the more heartily did Christians of all Protestant 
 denominations unite in a movement which, while 
 it has multiplied Bibles to an extent previously 
 unknown, has also indirectly produced results of 
 great importance to religion, though perhaps not 
 distinctly contemplated when the Bible Society 
 was first formed. 
 
 It was to circulate the Bible " -without note or 
 comment," thus giving scope and occasion for the 
 pure, unmixed truth of the Bible to reveal its 
 own intrinsic evidence as the "wisdom of God, 
 and the power of God unto salvation." Valuable 
 as Commentaries are, the Bible had been too 
 much considered as of little value without them. 
 We had all somewhat lost sight of the self 
 evidencing, and soul-converting power of the 
 word of God simply as His word ; and since the 
 Christian Church has been engaged in spreading 
 the Bible " without note or comment," I have seen 
 abundant proof that Christians have acquired more 
 
Persons and Events. 145 
 
 just and adequate views of the fulness and 
 power which are the great distinctive marks of the 
 Holy Scriptures. 
 
 As another happy result of the Bible move- 
 ment, we may add, it has enabled " Christians 
 of different denominations better to understand 
 the common ground on which all can unite in the 
 service of their common Lord. " One Lord, one 
 faith, one baptism, one hope of our calling," how- 
 ever prominently set forth as the true spirit of the 
 apostolic Church, had been long greatly overlooked 
 by Christians. They seemed rather to be governed 
 by the spirit described by the apostle when, writing 
 to the Corinthians, he says, "Every one of you 
 hath a psalm, hath a doctrine, hath a tongue, 
 hath a revelation, hath an interpretation." The 
 jealousy of sect and the spirit of sect had so 
 overrun, divided, and entangled the Church of 
 God, as to render her, in a measure, unconscious 
 of what she might accomplish by uniting her 
 energies in a common cause. She was too much 
 like Samson, not only shorn of her strength, 
 but bound with withs of her own creating, 
 through the divisions that had Afflicted her. The 
 Bible Society, bringing, together in one harmo- 
 10 
 
146 Recollections of 
 
 nious effort, for the spread of the Scriptures, all 
 who hold to them as 'the supreme rule of faith 
 and practice, not only gives us strength to do 
 more for our object than would be accomplished 
 by separate action, but also increases our zeal 
 and happiness in the service, by bringing heart 
 to heart in the great Christian Family, and 
 helping us to realize " how good and how pleas- 
 ant a thing it is for brethren to dwell together in 
 unity." The coals of fire which have been kept 
 apart, and lie smouldering under the ashes of 
 their own creating, brighten and glow with 
 increased heat when brought together. 
 
 But apart from these incidental benefits 
 growing out of Bible Societies, is the multiplica- 
 tion of Bibles which they have produced, both 
 in Christian lands and throughout the world ; and 
 this indeed is to be viewed as theu' great and 
 primary object. Previous to their formation, it 
 has been reckoned that about four million copies 
 of the Scriptures were in circulation. The num- 
 ber is supposed now to have reached ninety 
 million, and of this large number, about two- 
 thirds are in the English language. At the 
 same time the entire Scriptures, or parts of 
 
Persons and Events. 147 
 
 them, have been translated into one hundred and 
 seventy-four dialects and languages in which they 
 had not previously appeared. All these Bibles 
 indeed have not been issued from the presses of 
 Bible Societies. Perhaps from one-third to one- 
 half of them have been published on private 
 account. But the demand for their increased 
 issues from individual publishers has been pro- 
 duced in a great degree by the newly awakened 
 desire for the holy volume which Bible Societies 
 have been the means of creating. Individuals 
 would not have done so much had not the 
 Societies done more. 
 
 I cannot reflect upon these movements for the 
 circulation of the Holy Scriptures without noticing 
 some things in connection with them which 
 illustrate the wisdom and goodness of God in 
 carrying out His purposes of mercy, and which 
 serve to show that "this also cometh forth from 
 the Lord of Hosts," who is wonderful in counsel. 
 
 It is a memorable and gratifying fact, that 
 the first entire volume ever printed with types 
 was the Bible, as if at once to " denote the 
 greatest honor that could be bestowed on the 
 art of printing, and the infinitely highest pur- 
 
148 Recollections of 
 
 pose to which it was ever to be applied." The 
 work was issued about the middle of the fifteenth 
 century, when Guttenberg and Faust gave unend- 
 ing celebrity to their own names, and also to 
 Mentz, a town in Germany, by making it the 
 place where was first seen what the press may 
 be made to accomplish for the illumination of 
 our race. But from that period onward, — to the 
 time when a new zeal was felt among Christians 
 for the spread of the Bible among all classes and 
 all nations, the art of printing may be said to 
 have been in its infancy. It was comparatively 
 a slow and costly process. 
 
 But by recent great improvements, with the intro- 
 duction of machinery, one man can do in twenty-four 
 hours, work which would formerly have required ten 
 or twelve men, and can do it in greater peifection 
 as well as with more expedition. The price of a 
 volume is thus greatly reduced, and the number of 
 copies at the same time greatly multiplied. Now 
 be it remembei'ed, these unexampled improvements 
 in the art of printing were introduced just after the 
 Church of God began to pour forth her prayers, 
 and put forth her strength for the spread of the 
 Bible. The Most High thus promptly answered 
 
Persons and Events. 149 
 
 her prayers and smiled upon her efforts by furnish- 
 ing new and more efficient means for the accom- 
 plishment of her object ; nor is His hand the less 
 visible because these improvements in the art of 
 printing were effected, at least in part, by men who 
 "meant not so, neither did their heart think so." 
 When Solomon desired to build the temple, and 
 the purpose called for a " worker in brass, Hiram 
 of Tyre was filled with wisdom and understanding 
 and cunning to work all work in brass; and he 
 came to King Solomon and wrought all his work." 
 Another consideration: The majority of the 
 multiplied translations of the Scriptures into 
 foreign languages have been made by men to 
 whom the English language was vernacular ; and 
 of course the versions coming from their hands 
 woidd be more or less imbued with the spirit of 
 our English Bibles. They no doubt had the 
 Hebrew and Greek texts before them when they 
 engaged in their work, as their highest authority. 
 But they could not avoid carrying along with 
 them, recollections and associations of the Bibles 
 which they had read and reverenced as such from 
 their earliest days. A native of Prance or of 
 Germany would have felt the same influence from 
 
150 Recollections of 
 
 his own vernacular. But among all translations of 
 our Bible into languages modem or ancient, our 
 English Bible is confessedly the best. This is 
 becoming, very generally, the conviction of the 
 learned world. It was prepared with a care and 
 labor that could hardly be exceeded. The ability 
 and learning of the choice scholars and divines of 
 their day were enlisted in the service. In all these 
 respects it claims a pre-eminence which can be 
 conceded to no other, however to be commended in 
 various respects. Of course, men who had spoken 
 the English language and read the Englisb Bible 
 from their childhood, other things being equal, are 
 the men best qualified for the work of making new 
 translations of the Holy Scriptures. If early 
 associations in favor of any translations must be 
 expected to influence their views, on every account 
 let it be the best translation which the world had 
 previously seen. 
 
 It should stUl farther be observed, that of all 
 the nations of the earth, none are found so widely 
 spread through various countries and climes, as the 
 nations who claim the English as their native 
 tongue. You may call them Anglo-Saxon, or 
 Anglo-American, you find them everywhere, pur- 
 
Persons and Events. 151 
 
 suing commerce, or art, or some object which has 
 enlisted their enterprise and ambition. Especially 
 in Pagan lands, you find more of them than of all 
 other nations in Christendom combined. Their 
 sway in India, and indeed in all Asia, and in every 
 accessible part of Africa, stands, and is likely to 
 stand, unrivalled ; and, thank God ! wherever these 
 pioneers go, some of their countrymen are sure 
 to follow, bringing with them the Word of Life 
 for the healing of the nations which others may 
 have first visited for purposes of worldly gain. 
 They are there to translate the Bible, to circulate 
 the Bible, so that every man of every nation should 
 know and read the wonderful works of l&od in his 
 own tongue wherein he was born ; and the men 
 chosen to do the work are the very men who, from 
 the advantages furnished by their own language, 
 are qualified to do it best. 
 
 This is a point which should be carefully 
 weighed. It throws upon the Saxon race, heavy 
 responsibilities respecting the future destinies of 
 the world. As a fresh illustration of it, I subjoin 
 the following extract from the Christian " Citizen," 
 of 1861 :— 
 
 "Britain has frequently been denominated the 
 
152 Recollections of 
 
 mother of nations. Whatever may be her title 
 to this appellation, nothing is more evident and 
 true, than the fact, that her island has been the 
 laboratory of a most remarkable race, in which 
 nearly all the races that peopled Europe, fi'om the 
 Roman to the Norman conquest, were combined. 
 All that is vigorous in the Celt, the Saxon, the 
 Scandinavian, and the Norman, is absorbed into 
 what we call the Anglo-Saxon race ; and Avhen the 
 combination was completed on the Island of Great 
 Britain, a new world was discovered, as if it were 
 on purpose for the irresistible expansion of that 
 mighty race. As an illustration of one of its 
 physical qualities, it is estimated that its popula- 
 tion doubles itself in thirty-five years, while that of 
 Germany doubles itself in seventy-six ; of Holland, 
 in one hundred; of Spain, in one hundred and 
 six; of Italy, in one hundred and thirty-five; of 
 France in one hundred and thirty-eight ; of Portu- 
 gal, in two hundred and thirty-eight ; and that of 
 Turkey, in five hundred and fifty-five years. 
 
 "When one or two vessels crossed the ocean, 
 and planted here and there along the coast of North 
 America a few germs of that race, its whole 
 population in the Old World did not exceed six 
 
Persons and Events. 153 
 
 millions. England, Wales, and Scotland, num- 
 bered fewer inhabitants at that time, than New 
 York, Pennsylvania, and Ohio do now. Hardly 
 two centuries and a half have elapsed since that 
 epoch, and now there are at least twenty-five 
 millions of that race in North America and its 
 adjacent islands, or a number exceeding the whole 
 population of Great Britain. 
 
 "In 1620, the Anglo-Saxon race numbered about 
 six millions, and was confined to England, Wales, 
 and Scotland, and the combination of which it is 
 the result, was not then more than half perfected — 
 for neither Wales nor Scotland was more than 
 half Saxonized at that time. Now it numbers 
 sixty millions of human beings, planted upon all 
 the islands and continents of the earth, and 
 increasing everywhere by an intense ratio of 
 progression. It is fast absorbing or displacing all 
 the sluggish races of barbarous tribes of men that 
 have occupied the continents of America, Africa, 
 Asia, and the islands of the ocean. See it girdling 
 them from year to year, with its vigorous planta- 
 tions. If no great physical revolution supervene 
 to check its propagation, ,it will number eight 
 hundred millions of human beings in less than one 
 
154 Recollections of 
 
 hundred and fifty years from the present time ; all 
 speaking the same language, centred to the same 
 literature and religion, and exhibiting all its 
 inherent and inalienable characteristics. 
 
 " Thus the population of the earth is fast be- 
 coming Anglo-Saxonized by blood. But the Eng- 
 lish language is more self-expansive and aggressive 
 than the blood of that race. When a community 
 begins to speak and read the English language, it 
 is half Saxonized, even if not a drop of Anglo- 
 Saxon blood runs in its veins. Ireland was never 
 colonized from England, like North America or 
 Australia ; but nearly the whole of its seven or 
 eight millions already speak the English language, 
 which is the preparatory state to being entirely 
 absorbed into the Anglo-Saxon race, as one of its 
 most vigorous and useful elements. Everywhere 
 the English language is gaining upon the lan- 
 guages of the earth, and preparing those who 
 speak it for this absorption. The young genera- 
 tion of the East Indies is learning it, and it is 
 probable that within fifty years, twenty-five 
 millions of human beings, of Asiatic race, will 
 speak the language on that continent. So it is in 
 the United States. About fifty thousand emi- 
 
Persons and Events. 155 
 
 grants from Germany, and other countries of con- 
 tinental Europe, are arriving in this country every 
 year. Perhaps they cannot speak a w^ord of 
 English when they first land on our shores ; but in 
 the course of a few years they master the language 
 to some extent. Their children sit upon the same 
 benches in our common schools with those of our 
 native Americans, and become, as they grow up 
 and diffuse themselves among the rest of the 
 population, completely Anglo-Saxonized. 
 
 " Thus the race, by its wonderful self expansive 
 power of language and blood, is fast occupying 
 and subduing to its genius, all the continents and 
 islands of the earth. The grandson of many a 
 young man who reads these lines, will probably 
 live to see the day when that race will number its 
 eight hundred millions of human beings. Perhaps 
 they may comprise a hundred nations or distinct 
 governments. Perhaps they may become a grand 
 constellation and commonwealth of republics, per- 
 vaded by the same laws, literature, and religion. 
 Their unity, harmony, and brotherhood must be de- 
 termined by the relations between Great Britain and 
 the United States. Their union will be the union 
 of the two worlds. If they discharge their duty 
 
156 Recollections of 
 
 to each other, and to mankind, they must become 
 the united heart of the mighty race they represent, 
 feeding its myriad veins with the 'blood of moral 
 and political life. Upon the state of their fellow- 
 ship, then, more than upon the union of any two 
 nations on earth, depend the well-being of human- 
 ity, the peace and progress of the world." 
 
Persons and Events. 157 
 
 CHAPTER X. 
 
 Declen-sion IX Religion after the days of Edwards axd 
 Whitfield. Views of Dr. Green and Bishop Meade. — Apa- 
 thy PREVAILING AS TO FoREIGN MISSIONS. RiSE OF THE A. B. 
 
 C. F. M. — Subsequent Revival of Religion in the Churches. 
 — New York Missionary Society. — Influence of Dr. Mor- 
 rison IN AWAKENING SYMPATHY FOR THE HeATHEN. INCREASING 
 
 Activity of the Missionary Spirit. — Responsibility of the 
 American Churches in evangelizing the Pagan World. — 
 Great importance of Institutions for the special training 
 of Foreign Missionaries. 
 
 I HAVE always looked upon it as a subject for 
 thankfulness, that I was allowed to enter the gos- 
 pel ministry in the early part of the present 
 century. Subsequent to the revivals of religion 
 which overspread the country under Edwards, 
 "Whitfield, and others, from 1740 to 1770, a fearful 
 declension had taken place. It lasted for more 
 than forty years. " During this period," says the 
 venerable Dr. Green, "the spirit of the Revolu- 
 tionary War, and the sympathy with the French 
 Revolutionists, and the spirit of Tom Paineism, 
 spread over all our land." -Other venerable fathers 
 of the church have given the same account of that 
 
158 Recollections of 
 
 mournful epoch. "From 1805 to 1812," says 
 Bishop Meade of Virginia, "it seemed as if the 
 worst hopes of the Church's enemies and the most 
 painful fears of her friends were about to be real- 
 ized." But a visible reaction in favor of religion 
 began to show itself from 1810 to 1812 or 1813; and 
 it deserves especial note, that this happy change 
 followed very closely, if it was not simultaneous 
 with, the incipient movements of our churches for 
 the evangelization of the world. There had previ- 
 ously been a guilty and lamentable apathy on this 
 subject. The great duty of the Church on earth is 
 read in the command, " Go ye into all the world> 
 and preach the Gospel to every creature;" and if, 
 as the words intimate, the Church would expect 
 the Lord to manifest his presence with her at home, 
 she must engage in fulfilling her duty to the 
 nations abroad. So the American Church found it 
 in this memorable period of her history. The 
 American Board of Commissioners for Foreign 
 Missions was formed, and took its first steps to 
 awaken American Christians to her great work, in 
 1810 ; and from that time onward, a new era was 
 inaugurated among us, for the conversion of the 
 world. A little, and a very little, had been for- 
 
Persons and Events. 159 
 
 raerly done, and that, to their honor be it said, 
 chiefly by our Moravian brethren. Next to nothing 
 was done in foreign lands ; and though the Indians 
 were at our doors, it is both humbling and aston- 
 ishing when we reflect upon the small scale on 
 which missions even to them were planned and 
 conducted. 
 
 The New York Missionary Society had existed 
 for some time. It was composed of members from 
 three denominations — the Presbyterian, the Re- 
 formed Dutch, and Baptist; and with their 
 strength united, they supported only two mission- 
 aries, one among the Tuscaroras, and one among 
 the Seneca Indians. The usual contribution from 
 our able men Avho gave any thing, was three dol- 
 lars a year. Thirty dollars, if paid at one time, 
 made the donor a life-member of the Society, and 
 his certificate of membership was often viewed as 
 receipt in full, precluding all further demands on 
 his purse for the conversion of the world to Chris- 
 tianity. 
 
 Indeed, on the abstract question of what was 
 duty to the heathen world, a mistaken and con- 
 tracted view prevailed with, some of our greatest 
 and best men. When the first missionaries to 
 
160 Recollections of 
 
 India, as Newell, Judson, Hall, and others, were 
 sent out by the A. B.' C. F. M., they came on to 
 New York, previous to leaving our shores. Their 
 purpose was openly and loudly condemned by 
 some of our leading clergy as undutiful and Quix- 
 otic. It was said they should stay at home and 
 preach the Gospel to the destitute in our own 
 country ; and that their zeal to go abroad was so 
 wild and vain, that if they could not be reasoned 
 or rebuked out of it, they should be left to them- 
 selves, to be cured of their presumption by their 
 own bitter experience. 
 
 Many of these good men lived to change their 
 views, and entered on the great work with such 
 zeal as if they felt they had time to redeem, and 
 would make amends for their former error. They 
 fell in with the current, which in a short time 
 became so strong, as to extend itself to all evan- 
 gelical denominations in our land. Presbyterians, 
 Congregationalists, Baptists, Methodists, and Epis- 
 copalians have since taken up the work of preach- 
 ing the Gospel to all nations, laying the founda- 
 tions of those noble enterprises which are now 
 going on "conquering and to conquer;" and I 
 believe I am fully justified in saying, that every 
 
Persons and Events. 161 
 
 period which has been marked by extraordinaiy 
 zeal and liberality in the cause of Foreign Missions, 
 has been distinguished in an equal degree by 
 unusual spiritual prosperity in the churches at 
 home. No doubt, there is a mutual reaction of the 
 one upon the other, and so we should expect. " He 
 that watereth," we are told, " shall be watered also 
 himself;" and while the Church gains more strength 
 to go on in her work of watering others, she draws 
 a stiU more abundant blessing upon her own 
 members, qualifying them "more abundantly for 
 every good word and work." 
 
 In the work of awakening the spirit of Missions 
 in our churches, there was one instrumentality 
 which should not be overlooked, and which, as we 
 think, has not always been properly estimated. 
 
 "When Christians in England began their mis- 
 sionary operations in the East, they met with much 
 opposition from the East India Company ; and to 
 such an extent was this hostility carried, that for 
 years no missionary was allowed to sail for India 
 in a ship which the Company could bring under 
 their control.* Accordingly, when Dr. Morrison 
 and his companions were - sent to China and to 
 
 India, they left England for America, and it was 
 11 
 
162 Recollections of 
 
 from New York that this distinguislied man of 
 God sailed for Canton. The visit which he made 
 to us was not of long duration, while some of those 
 who came with him remained with us after he had 
 left. But, filled as their hearts were with the 
 importance of the great work to which they had 
 devoted themselves, they talked about it, preached 
 about it, and prayed about it, whether in the pulpit 
 or in the parlor, by the wayside or the fireside. 
 They could not fail to produce a deep and wide 
 impression on the minds of Christians, and we may 
 date from that period a great advance in zeal for 
 the conversion of the world in the American 
 Churches. So does God make the wrath of man 
 to praise him. If the hostility of the East India 
 Company would not allow those brethren to 
 embark for their field of labor directly from 
 England, and obliged them to go by the way of 
 New York, it was because God had work for them 
 to do in New York in furtherance of their great 
 object. Dr. Morrison's influence especially can be 
 weU remembered by many of us. When he left 
 home, he had made some very painful sacrifices to 
 his zeal for the cause, and there was a melting 
 tenderness in his appeals which rendered them 
 
Persons and Events. 163 
 
 peculiarly powerful. He was "a man full of the 
 Holy Grhost," raised up and richly qualified for 
 "the work whereunto he was called;" and his 
 subsequent labor in translating the Bible into the 
 Chinese language, is a memorial of his worth that 
 cannot be too highly estimated. 
 
 But whatever cause or causes may have con- 
 tributed to produce it, the growth of a holy zeal 
 for the conversion of all nations to Christianity has 
 become a marked characteristic of the last fifty 
 years, in all Protestant Denominations of our land. 
 Annual contributions to the cause, which formerly 
 seldom reached even a few thousand dollars, now 
 approach a million and a half. Missionary Stations, 
 instead of being few in number and feeble in 
 growth, are now found in every quarter of the 
 globe, exhibiting a strength and stability which is 
 every year increasing ; and our missionaries, instead 
 of being faint-hearted and discouraged by the 
 smallness of their numbers and the apathy of the 
 Churches at home, are counted by thousands, and 
 in view of the success attending their labors, and, 
 the sympathies that follow them from Christian 
 lands, are animated with the confidence that they 
 see the dawn of the day when " the kingdoms of 
 
164 Recollections of 
 
 this world shall become the kingdoms of our Lord 
 and of His Christ," 
 
 This growing and expanded zeal is indeed 
 found in all the Churches of Protestant Christen- 
 dom, especially in England. But, even in England, 
 the rate of increase in contributions both of men 
 and of money has not been so great as it has been 
 in America ;* and we are bound to take the lead 
 in this respect, if we take into consideration the 
 greater rapidity of our growth in population and in 
 wealth. 
 
 But there is still another consideration which 
 should excite our churches to increased activity and 
 
 * The Congregationalkt has recently presented the following sta- 
 tistics. "The British missionary societies are twenty in number, 
 employing 6,216 agents, having 184,000 Church members, 201,000 
 scholars, and an annual income of $3,094,000. The continental soci- 
 eties are twelve in number, one-half having their head-quarters in 
 Germany, having 811 agents, 70,000 Church members, 12,000 pupils, 
 and an annual income of $287,000. The European total of Protes- 
 tant missions there is 32 societies, 7,027 agents, 263,000 Church 
 members, 213,000 pupils in the school, and an annual income of 
 $3,381,000. The American missionary societies are sixteen in num- 
 ber ; 2,388 agents, 54,000 Church members, 22,000 pupils, with an 
 income of $1,100,000. The grand total of Protestant missionary 
 operations, then, is 48 societies, 9,415 agents, 317,000 Chnrch mem- 
 bers, 235,000 pupils, and a combined income of $4,481,000." It is 
 supposed by many who ought to know, that the estimate of income 
 to the American Societies is too low, by at least $200,000. 
 
Persons and Events. 165 
 
 enlarged plans of operation. There is a responsibility- 
 lying on the churches of America in this great work, 
 arising from her geographical position and the char- 
 acter of her population, which cannot be too often 
 presented to our minds, or too carefully weighed. 
 I love to dwell on the subject, though at the risk 
 perhaps of being charged with repeating myself. 
 
 No Protestant nation stands so directly face to 
 face with the Pagan world as ourselves. From our 
 shores on the Pacific, we look immediately, not 
 only on the inhospitable wilds of Siberia, but upon 
 the vast and populous empire of China ; upon Far- 
 ther India, and upon the islands of Japan and the 
 Eastern Archipelago ; regions " where Satan's seat 
 is," and where his unclean and cruel dominion, as 
 yet, has been scarcely invaded. A new way of 
 access to them is now opened. The ocean which 
 divides us from them, is already bridged by our 
 flying steamers, freighted with the wealth of the 
 world. While our merchants are so actively 
 employed in gathering golden harvests from com- 
 merce with these dark and long inaccessible 
 countries, Christians among us should be equally 
 engaged in sending them " greater riches than the 
 treasures of Egypt." They present a field for 
 
166 Recollections of 
 
 Gospel conquests that seems to have been reserved 
 for the American Churches; and we should con- 
 sider it a duty specially required of us to " go up 
 and possess the land," covering it with the bless- 
 ings of Christian truth and Ckristian freedom. 
 
 But we have a work to do at home as well as 
 abroad, for Christianizing the world, which, in a 
 great degree, is peculiar to ourselves. Our coun- 
 try is the home of the emigrant, and to furnish an 
 asylum for the oppressed and destitute of other 
 lands, is one of the destinies which we are 
 appointed to fulfil. I do not share in the fears 
 which some entertain on this subject. I do not 
 believe that our institutions are jeopardized by the 
 crowds seen flying to us from abroad. I entertain 
 the higher hopes of our country when I see it 
 becoming a Betheada, a house of mercy for the 
 suffering ; for it thus secures to itself the blessings 
 of them that were ready to perish. The nation has 
 possessed a character from the beginning, too 
 distinct and enduring, too strong and determined, 
 to be changed by any exotic influence acting upon 
 it at this day of its maturing strength. Let wise 
 legislation and active Christian benevolence take 
 care that foreigners be made to understand and 
 
Persons akd Events. 167 
 
 appreciate our civil and religious privileges; and 
 so far from having any thing to fear, we have much 
 to hope, both for ourselves and for them, by their 
 residence in the midst of us. It is indeed true that 
 they bring with them lamentable displays of igno- 
 rance and superstition. But we should look upon 
 them as sent to us to be enlightened and relieved. 
 We should consider it as so much work brought to 
 our doors, that it may be done the more effectually. 
 They are sent to us that they may gain lessons 
 which they could not have learned so well, nor 
 would we so earnestly have taught them, had they 
 remained in their former homes. When they 
 become inhabitants of a country held in common 
 by them and ourselves, we feel that we are so shut 
 up to our duty that the penalty of our neglect 
 must be our own ruin; that we must give the 
 truth to them, or lose it ourselves; and thus are 
 we stimulated in our duty by the conviction that, 
 while we are acting for the good of others, we are 
 also laboring for our own welfare, and the welfare 
 of our children in future generations. 
 
 But the good which may thus be done among 
 the strangers within our gates is far from being 
 confined to those who may live and die among us. 
 
168 Recollections of 
 
 Through them we are sowing a seed which is yet 
 to spring up and bear its most abundant fruit in 
 the countries from which they have come. There 
 is an incident in New Testament history which has 
 a pregnant meaning on this subject. When 
 Jerusalem, on the day of Pentecost, was made the 
 radiating point of " saving light" to the world, 
 " there were dwellers in the city out of every nation 
 under heaven ; Parthians, and Medes, and Elamites, 
 and the dwellers in Mesopotamia, and in Judea, 
 and Cappadocia, in Pontus, and Asia, Phrygia, and 
 Pamphylia, in Egypt, and in the parts of Libya 
 about Cyrene, strangers of Rome, Jews and prose- 
 lytes, Cretes and Arabians," who received the 
 Gospel, and " were baptized in the name of 
 Christ." The time had come when repentance and 
 remission of sins should be preached in His name 
 among all nations, beginning at Jerusalem; and 
 here do we see the all-wise God preparing the right 
 means for accomplishing that great end. He shed 
 down His Spirit, and brought into His church men 
 " of every nation under heaven," while they were 
 " dwellers" or " sojourners" among His people, that 
 they might be constrained and the better qualified 
 to carry His Gospel into all the various lands from 
 
Persons and Ev'ents. 169 
 
 whicli they had come, and to which they belonged. 
 The result was soon made known in the speed and 
 the power with which His kingdom was spread in 
 that day of its glory. 
 
 We believe that by a similar instrumentality 
 the Gospel is again to be carried to distant and 
 now darkened regions of the earth ; and that such 
 a service as was then rendered by " the dwellers at 
 Jerusalem from every nation under heaven," will 
 again be performed by " the sons of the stranger" 
 already among us, or now clustering to our shores 
 from all quarters of the globe. We view them as 
 sent to us by the overi'uling providence of God, 
 that they may here learn our religion, our laws and 
 institutions, and become the means of carrying 
 these privileges back to the home of their fathers. 
 In this way a new leaf is to be opened up in the 
 history of missions. Much credit as may be due 
 to the noble-hearted men who have gone abroad 
 from Christian lands as missionaries to the 
 heathen, it is vain to expect that the great mass of 
 Pagan nations can be brought to Christianity by 
 their labors. They can but sow the seed; "and 
 herein is that saying true, one soweth and another 
 reapeth." The harvest must be gathered in by 
 
170 Recollections of 
 
 those who belong to the land where the seed shall 
 have taken root. No people can be so advantageous- 
 ly and universally instructed as where the teachers 
 and the taught speak the same vernacular language, 
 and sympathize with each other through the 
 countless chords of the heart, which a foreigner 
 cannot so happily touch. Native instructors must 
 do the work, and they can never be so amply 
 qualified for their task as by having lived in the 
 midst of a people, and mingled with a people, where 
 they have not only learned the truths of Chris- 
 tianity, but have also seen its practical workings, 
 and have been witnesses of the blessings it 
 bestows. 
 
 Our age and our country have already fur- 
 nished a remarkable demonstration of this. Time 
 has fully shown how little can be done for Africa 
 unless by those who properly belong to her own 
 race of the human family. Long, painfully long, 
 has she remained what she has often been called, 
 "opprobrium humani generis," the reproach of 
 mankind, because of her deep and unrelieved 
 degradation. Notwithstanding the most perseve- 
 ring efforts made by some of her best and most 
 devoted friends, sad experience has shown that she 
 
Persons and Events. 171 
 
 never can be elevated and enlightened by the 
 labors of white men. They are under the ban of 
 her climate ; and she has vrritten her stern decree 
 for their exclusion along her coast, in the graves of 
 those to whom it was allowed only to die for the 
 cause for which they had hoped to live and labor. 
 All now admit that if ever Africa is redeemed from 
 darkness, it must be the work of her own sons, 
 and of their descendants, trained for a successful 
 entrance on the service by having enjoyed the 
 privileges of a Christian land. And since the work 
 has passed into their hands, a success has followed 
 it that has silenced even the scoffer. " Ethiopia is 
 stretching out her hands unto God." Regions on 
 her coast, lately "filled with the habitations of 
 cruelty," are blessed with the light of life. A 
 cordon of moral health begins to surround her, not 
 to confine pestilence within, but to exclude pirates 
 from vrithout, whose ruthless violence has long soaked 
 her sands in the tears and blood of her children. 
 Liberia is a Christian and a free country ; and, like 
 " a city set on a hill," is showing to the world what 
 AAicans can become, and can accomplish, when 
 moulded under the power^of the Gospel. It was 
 in America, and while dwelling in the midst of us, 
 
172 Recollections of 
 
 that tlie men who have thus begun the work of 
 evangelizing the land of their fathers were trained 
 for their high enterprise; and our nation has 
 
 f 
 
 enjoyed the opportunity of showing how success- 
 fully colonies may be planted, without entailing 
 on them the evils of colonial dependence. 
 
 Let us also look -at China. Missionar}'^ means 
 and labors have been expended there without in- 
 terruption for many years, but with comparatively 
 small success. The land still continues walled 
 in from the approach of the Gospel, and the 
 inhabitants boast that its citadels of darkness 
 remain impregnable, whether assailed by one de- 
 nomination of Christians or another. Their 
 habitual jealousy and studied contempt for foreign- 
 ers seem to shut their ears against the truth 
 which its ablest advocate may present to them ; 
 and their language is so intricate and perplexing 
 that it costs him the labor of years before he can 
 either speak or write it with freedom and confi- 
 dence. No argument can be required to show 
 what an impulse would be given to the spread of 
 Christianity in China by the native Chinaman, 
 who, having witnessed and felt the power of the 
 Gospel in a Christian land, would then return with 
 
Persons and Events. 173 
 
 a heart yearning for the salvation of his country- 
 men, "beseeching them in Christ's stead to be recon- 
 ciled to God." But where and how are the proud, 
 jealous sons of that long-secluded and wide empire 
 to be qualified for such an important service ? Not 
 many years since, it would have been scarce possi- 
 ble to give an answer to the question. Kecent 
 events, already noticed, suggest a reply. The 
 advance of our nation with her institutions, both 
 civil and religious, to the shores of the Pacific, was 
 an important step in the civilization of the world ; 
 and now, when, under the aegis of her protection, 
 she is bringing to light the rich resources of that 
 long-neglected region, the dormant faculties of the 
 various nations in Eastern Asia will soon be 
 quickened into new activity. The Celestial 
 Empire already begins to lose the spell which 
 bound the Chinaman in the belief that it contains 
 within itself every thing of value, and that every 
 thing " on the outside" of its confines is barbarous 
 and worthless. The new, but restless desire to 
 learn the secret of our strength, when we have 
 opened a new way to their doors, has already led 
 thousands and thousands of Chinese to become resi- 
 dents within our borders ; and when the Chinaman 
 
174 Recollections of 
 
 comes he will soon be followed by others. When 
 our country shall have become, as it is fast becoming, 
 the great highway for the commercial wealth of the 
 Avorld, as it passes from nation to nation and from 
 continent to continent, it will call to our shores 
 myriads from North, South, East, and West, until 
 every language shall be spoken, and every tribe 
 and race of the human family shall be seen among 
 us. The effect of such a state of things on the 
 religious interests of mankind, was not overlooked 
 by the "holy men of God, speaking as they were 
 moved by the Holy Ghost." A commerce which 
 will bring together countries now far distant from 
 each other, a commerce which forms that very 
 branch of enterprise and industry in Avhich our 
 nation is fast taking the lead, is distinctly described, 
 in prophetic language, as yet to have a wide-felt 
 influence in turning the whole garth to the Lord. 
 " Surely the isles shall wait for me, and the ships 
 of Tarshish first, to bring thy sons from far, their 
 silver and their gold with them, unto the name of 
 the Lord thy God, and to the Holy One of 
 Israel." 
 
 When I look forward to that day, a day of 
 such large, if not measureless means of doing good 
 
Persons and Events. 175 
 
 to mankind, yet to be intrusted to the hands of this 
 nation, I admit that I "rejoice with trembling." 
 It wiU bring with it a responsibility to God and to 
 man for which we should be anxious to be well 
 prepared. Many of our sainted fathers, as Ed- 
 wards, Davies, and others, " after they had served 
 their generation, by the will of God fell on sleep," 
 cheered to their dying hour with the conviction 
 that from the Churches in America the Gospel will 
 be first exhibited, with that light and power which 
 will subdue every nation, and kindred, and tongue, 
 and people, to the obedience of faith. Events 
 which they could little foresee seem to be prepar- 
 ing the way for the fulfilment of their expectations. 
 Are Christians among us animated by a zeal which 
 corresponds with these brightening indications of 
 God's holy providence ? 
 
 In the review of what has been lately done in 
 our land for the sacred cause, we may well " thank 
 God and take courage." But when we compare 
 all that has been contributed, whether in men or 
 means, with the hundreds of millions still re- 
 maining in the darkness of Paganism, we may 
 well ask, " What are these among so many ?" and 
 should feel ourselves called to fresh earnestness in 
 
176 Recollections of 
 
 praying "the Lord of the harvest to send forth 
 laborers into his harvest." Let me add, that in 
 contemplating what is yet to be done in order 
 to meet our high responsibilities in the conversion 
 of the world, I have long desired to see a step 
 taken which is essential to the right discharge of 
 our duties. I care not much whether we are to 
 have a separate Theological Seminary for the 
 special training of our missionaries, or whether 
 we shall superadd to our Seminaries now existing, 
 a separate DejDartment for the purpose; on some 
 account, perhaps, the latter would be most advisa- 
 ble. But no one who will carefully consider the 
 subject can fail to realize the importance of giving 
 to our missionaries an education or a training 
 adapted to the distinctive character of their 
 work. The experience of the Church, both in 
 England and on the Continent, as at Islington 
 and Basle, has fully tested and demonstrated the 
 importance of such a measure; I rejoice to 
 see that some of our Churches have recently 
 formed their plans and are soliciting endowments 
 for the object. God speed them! The path 
 before them is plain. We have men now in the 
 missionary field, and men among our returned 
 
Persons and Events. 177 
 
 missionaries, amply qualified to take a leading part 
 
 as instructors in such Institutions. Let them be 
 
 so employed, and the mantle of these Elijahs will 
 
 fall on Elishas, who will go forth, anointed with a 
 
 double portion of the Spirit, to " teach all nations, 
 
 ' baptizing them in the name of the Father, the 
 
 Son, and the Holy Ghost." 
 12 
 
178 Recollections of 
 
 CHAPTER XL 
 
 Importance of the Medical Profession in Foreign Missions. 
 — Our Lord's Miracles of Healing, as Signs of His Com 
 iNG. — Luke, "the beloved Physician," as a Companion and 
 Aid to Paul. — Dangers in the way of Medical Students. 
 — Duty of Christians in reference to them. — Description 
 of an accomplished and successful Physician. 
 
 In this age of Missions, and of general zeal for 
 the conversion of the world, the instrumentality 
 of the Medical Pi'ofession in the work seems to be 
 too much overlooked. It should be remembered, 
 that the miracles by which our Lord proved the 
 divinity of His own mission, and the coming of 
 His kingdom, were generally the miraculous 
 healings of disease, rescuing the bodies of men 
 from pain and deformity. When John the Bap- 
 tist was anxious to obtain some decided proof that 
 Jesus of Nazareth was indeed the promised 
 Messiah, he sent, asking, "Art thou He that 
 should come, or do we look for another V And 
 the reply of our Lord to the message was, " Go 
 and show John again those things that ye do hear 
 and see; the blind receive their sight, the lame 
 
-Persons and Events. 179 
 
 walk, the lepers are cleansed, the deaf hear, the dead 
 are raised up, and the poor have the gospel preached 
 to them ;" thus primarily and mainly referring to the 
 displays of His power in removing disease from 
 the body as a proof that He was indeed the Christ. 
 Now why was this work made so prominent, as a 
 token both of His character and His mission? 
 Not dwelling on all the reasons for it, let us remem- 
 ber that, by the very laws of our nature, he who 
 relieves us from bodily suffering enlists our kind 
 sympathies in his favor — secures almost the sanction 
 of law to both his views and his wishes. Accord- 
 ingly, you see from His history, that whether our 
 Lord healed the sick, cleansed the leper, or gave 
 sight to the blind, the relief bestowed usually 
 inclined the man to follow Him. So we might 
 expect it to be. It arises, as we see, from the 
 essential sympathies of the heart, that when I feel 
 myself either cured or convalescent under the 
 skill of any man, he shall have not only my 
 gratitude, but my confidence in many things, if not 
 in all. He has made his way to the inner 
 sanctuary of my bosom ; and if he is an enemy to 
 religion, he may do infinite e-vil ; while, if he is a 
 friend of Christ, he may do more than any other 
 
180 Recollections of - 
 
 man, unless it be the preacher of the Gospel, to 
 lead me to the Saviour. Nor should even that 
 exception be always made. The ministers of God's 
 word are not always called in till it is too late — 
 till the faculties are benumbed by the progress of 
 disease, and by the approach of death. The phy- 
 sician is there from the first — can note the earliest 
 risings of an awakened conscience and that tender- 
 ness of feeling which are the usual attendants of a 
 sick-bed ; and, if he is faithful to improve his 
 opportunity, good may be expected to follow which 
 he alone could accomplish. I can speak from the 
 experience of a life in the ministry of the Gospel 
 somewhat prolonged, and I can say that if I ever 
 saw the sick-bed sanctified to the sufferer, I have 
 generally found that the physician had sowed the 
 seed of divine truth, before I was of service to 
 bring the fruit to maturity. 
 
 But while the physician may thus do good in 
 the Churches at home, his usefulness might be 
 still more distinctly seen in the foreign field. It 
 was so in Apostolic days. How emphatically is 
 the profession of Luke marked in Sacred History ! 
 Paul calls him "the beloved physician," and it 
 seems the endearing appellation was not given to 
 
Persons and Events. 181 
 
 him simply because lie had written that portion of 
 Scripture called the " Gospel according to Luke," 
 but also for other deeds of his life and attributes 
 of character which distinguished him as a devoted 
 disciple of Christ. " Only Luke is with me," says 
 Paul. And when did he say it ? When he was 
 a prisoner in Rome, bound in chains, and when 
 others had forsaken him and fled. But whoever 
 might go, influenced by their love of the world, or 
 their fear of man, Luke, it would seem, was still at 
 the Apostle's side, to minister to his comfort, and 
 help to sustain his spirit,, burdened alike with his 
 care of the Churches, and his sorrow over the 
 faithlessness of those who had deserted him. Nor 
 was it only while a prisoner at Rome that the 
 Apostle witnessed the fidelity of his " beloved 
 physician." In his various journeyings, whether 
 by sea or land, as when he first obeyed the cry 
 from Macedon, " Come over and help us," making 
 his first adventure in Europe, as a preacher of the 
 Gospel ; or when he afterwards went up to 
 Jerusalem, aware of the perils awaiting him there ; 
 Luke seems to have been still with him, sharing 
 his labors not only in speaking for Christ, as he 
 found a fit season, but ministering as a physician in 
 
182 Recollections of 
 
 healing the sick whenever they sought his aid, thus 
 opening the way for the message of life, whether 
 uttered by himself, or the great Apostle whom he 
 accompanied. 
 
 As the Church has now in hand the very work 
 which was carried on by Paul when sent to preach 
 to the Gentile world, we need for it the same 
 instrumentality, if we would hope for like success. 
 All who have the cause at heart should realize 
 that our Missionary Stations can never be ade- 
 quately or scripturally equipped till we have both 
 the physician and the preacher — a Luke with a 
 Paul laboring in the same field, animated by the 
 same Spirit. On this point, too, the Church should 
 learn wisdom from her past experience. She has 
 felt the importance of the healing art in order 
 properly to prepare the way for the spreading of 
 the Gospel among the heathen; but she has 
 pursued a mistaken policy, which las sacrificed 
 some of her choicest men to her error. She has 
 sent her missionaries to our Medical Schools before 
 sending them abroad, to qualify them for medical 
 practice ; and too often, when in the field, they have 
 fallen victims to labors which overtasked their 
 strength in their efforts to do all that was required 
 
Persons and Events. 183 
 
 of them. What, for example, might be expected 
 in our own country, where a man may enjoy all 
 the advantasres of his native climate and other 
 surroundings for his health and comfort, but the 
 sacrifice of his life to his labors, if he should be 
 required to fulfil the duties of a faithful minister of 
 the Gospel, and also of a faithful physician ? Much 
 more must it be so with the devoted missionary 
 whose strength is wasted under a tropical sun, or 
 amidst perpetual snows, or, at least, in a climate 
 new to him, and the more trying to his physical 
 constitution because, surrounded by other associa- 
 tions peculiar to his calling that press heavily on 
 his strength and spirits. It is high time that the 
 Church should awake to new views, and a new 
 standard of duty on this subject. She must give 
 a new and wider range to her desires when she 
 utters the petition that " the Lord would send 
 forth laborers into his harvest." We need young 
 men from our Medical Schools, as well as from our 
 Theological Seminaries, to turn their eyes to the 
 heathen world and to address the Church with the 
 offer, " Here am I, send me." We want other 
 " Lukes, beloved physicians," in our day, as well 
 as other "Pauls, Apostles of the Gentiles," to 
 
184 Recollections of 
 
 consecrate themselves to the work of turning the 
 heathen from their idols to the living God. 
 
 In view of these considerations we should give 
 the Medical profession, and especially our Medical 
 Schools, a higher place in our prayers, our sym- 
 pathies, and our efforts for their moral welfare. 
 Few of us, perhaps, have rightly contemplated the 
 perils which beset the Medical Student while pur- 
 suing his education. The place to which he must 
 generally repair, because furnishing the best advan- 
 tages for his studies, is the crowded city, where 
 temptation to vice in eveiy. tbrm waylays the 
 young man at every step, and where, perhaps, 
 ignorant of his danger, he is entangled, if not 
 ruined, before he is aware. His acquaintance with 
 his instructors is brief and temporary, perhaps 
 never extending beyond the Lecture-room, with 
 little or no opportunity for them, however anxious 
 for it, to acquire any moral influence over his con- 
 duct. The nature of his studies has a tendency to 
 fix his thoughts on the body and bodily welfare of 
 man, to the exclusion of the immortal soul, so as 
 perhaps to beguile him, imperceptibly to himself, 
 into materialism or some other form of partial 
 infidelity ; a danger all the greater to a young man. 
 
Persons and Events. 185 
 
 wLen he sees many of those who have been 
 renowned in his future profession, classed among 
 open infidels and scoffers. Nor are these perils 
 which meet the young Medical student, such as he 
 may easily avoid. They are inseparable in a great 
 degree from his situation when seeking the advan- 
 tages which may best qualify him for future useful- 
 ness and eminence. I could give example after 
 example, chronicled in the tears of broken-hearted 
 parents and friends, showing how wide the ruin 
 thus spread among our young men of brilliant tal- 
 ents, high ambition, ay, known and noted for every 
 thing good but the " one thing needful ;" and for 
 the want of that " one thing needful," they fell. 
 
 My former public relations having led me to 
 see "how wide-spread are these evils, I am the more 
 anxious to see any and every measure heartily 
 countenanced which may serve to guard or to 
 rescue our young physicians from these dangers, 
 often so fatal to themselves, and so fatal also 
 to our hopes of good from their future lives. We 
 are accustomed to make "the schools of the 
 prophets" the subject of our earnest supplications 
 before Heaven; and well that it should be so. 
 The character and spirit of the Gospel ministry are 
 
186 Recollections op 
 
 always greatly affected by the influences brought 
 to bear upon their minds, while in early life they 
 are being trained for their high office. It is in no 
 small degree the same with those who are candi- 
 dates for the profession I am now surveying. Let 
 our future physicians feel that they are the objects 
 of especial solicitude to the Christian community, 
 and as a consequence which may be hoped to flow 
 from this, let them feel the influence of enlightened 
 piety themselves while preparing for their high 
 responsibilities as the guardians of public health ; 
 and they will carry it with them to the sick-bed, 
 to the chambers of death, carry it with them 
 wherever they go; and, wherever it is carried, it 
 will be " as the dew of Hermon, as the dew that 
 descended upon the mountains of Zion, for there 
 the Lord commanded the blessing, even life for 
 evermore." 
 
 Let me picture such a physician; such as I 
 would desire to see going abroad to shed blessings 
 on the minds and bodies of men. He should be a 
 man well qualified for his work by study and 
 observation, keeping up Avith the advancement 
 constantly made both in the theory and practice of 
 medical skill. He should be endued with a courage 
 
Persons and Events. 187 
 
 that can look danger in the face calmly and coolly 
 when he is called to encounter the malignant 
 " pestilence that walketh in darkness," and should 
 be so self-possessed as never to lose the best use 
 of his faculties in those emergencies when life 
 depends on his action at the moment. With all 
 this firmness of character and purpose, he should 
 combine the suavity and gentleness of spirit and 
 manner that soothes the pain which he cannot 
 remove, the serene and cheerful face as he enters 
 the sick room, which will tend to inspire that hope 
 in the patient which often gives increased efiicacy 
 to the wisest prescriptions. He should also be so 
 devoted to his duties that no weariness or aversion 
 to exposure can keep him away from a sick bed 
 where his presence and skill are required for the 
 safety, perhaps the life of the sufferer. And then 
 to all this I would add what can best finish the 
 whole picture ; an intelligent and sincere piety 
 that will look to Heaven for a blessing on the 
 means he is using to accomplish a cure ; that will 
 remember his suffering patient has a soul as well 
 as a body calling for his sympathies ; and far from 
 yielding to the strange delusion that there is any 
 thing in the Gospel when fitly and rightly spoken 
 
188 Recollections of 
 
 which can either augment or prolong disease, he 
 will welcome the Gospel minister as a great aux- 
 iliary in the work he has himself undertaken, well 
 knowing that the balm of Gilead, which gives rest 
 to the anxious spirit, always does much to allay the 
 fever which is wasting away the fountains of life. 
 And once more, he should be a man who, having 
 done all that can be done, and yet sees his 
 patient sinking and dying, will feel that every 
 death he witnesses is a new argument to prompt 
 him to increased diligence in all his duties, as 
 he knows not how soon he himself may be called 
 to follow those whom he has seen passing into 
 that eternity which awaits us all. 
 
 Such physicians there have been, and such 
 there are now; and when all physicians shall be 
 such, a bright day will dawn on the Church 
 and on the world, and a new brightness will 
 also enter into the chamber of pain and disease. 
 
Persons and Events. 189 
 
 CHAPTER XII. 
 
 TJkivkrsitt of the Citt op New York. — Considerations 
 which led to the establishment of it. literary conven- 
 TION. — Address at its opening. — Inauguration of Profes- 
 sors. — Addresses on the occasion. — Erection of the 
 University building. — Grant from the Legislature. — 
 Resignation of the Chancellorship. — Action of the Council 
 on the occasion. — Review of leading and distinguishing 
 features of the University. — Advantages of New York 
 AS the site of such an Institution. — Dangers to public 
 
 MEN from excessive LaBORS. 
 
 The establishment of a University in the City 
 of Nevr York was the subject of deliberation some 
 time before definite action was taken or an applica- 
 tion made to the public on its behalf The measure 
 had been urged on our citizens by gentlemen in 
 various parts of our country, as an achievement 
 befitting our position as the commercial metropolis 
 of the nation and the central point of much of its 
 wealth and intelligence. There were at the same 
 time various considerations arising among ourselves 
 which tended to awaken general interest in the 
 subject. Our Public Schools were constantly 
 developing fine intellect among the youth of our 
 
]9.0 Recollections of 
 
 people, but who from the want of opportunity or 
 means, could not pursue their studies beyond the 
 limits of Common School education ; and it was 
 deemed advisable to create an Institution embra- 
 cing numerous Foimdations or Scholarships on 
 which such young men might be placed for the 
 prosecution of a more finished education. Many 
 also who were the sons of our able and wealthy 
 citizens wished to prosecute their studies in the 
 higher branches of Learning not usually taught in 
 our Colleges, and for this purpose were obliged to 
 resort to foreign countries. A University deserv- 
 ing the name, if established in our own City, 
 would furnish them with all the advantages they 
 required in this respect without the necessity of 
 going abroad. The Philosophy of Education, 
 whether in our Common Schools or higher Sem- 
 inaries of Learning, was thought to have more 
 importance than had been usually attached to it, 
 and we felt that a Chair devoted to it might be 
 advantageously established. Our Artists also, as 
 our Sculptors and Painters, had not yet received 
 the patronage befitting the importance of the Fine 
 Arts, and many of their friends desired to furpish 
 them with increased facilities for concentrating their 
 
Persons and Events. 191 
 
 eflfbrts, and exhibiting their skill to the public. 
 Our City, consisting of so large a resident and 
 transient population, presenting disease in every 
 form; and its immense commercial transactions 
 constantly carrying important questions of Law 
 into our Courts, was thought to furnish advantages 
 for Professional education in Law and Medicine 
 which might be rendered more available. The 
 Profession of the merchant was considered as 
 having been too much overlooked in systems of 
 liberal education. Commerce has, in our day, 
 created an empire of its own. It has a sway in 
 the councils of Cabinets, and in the movements 
 of armies that no empire or nation can disregard ; 
 and it ought to have men trained for its leaders, 
 that have enjoyed every advantage for acquiring 
 enlarged and just ideas of the history, the laws, 
 the morals, and the ends of Commerce. The 
 commercial character of our City, as well as the 
 intrinsic importance of the thing itself, it was said, 
 made it fitting and right that in a scheme of 
 extended education in New York, provision 
 should be made for instruction in all these varied 
 aspects and relations of a pursuit so interwoven 
 with the best interests of our land. It was also 
 
192 Recollections of 
 
 said that, especially in a country like ours, where 
 practical utility is so ' much valued, courses of 
 instruction should be opened in which the applica- 
 tions of Science to all the great pursuits of life, 
 should receive a larger share of attention than was 
 then usual in our Colleges. It had likewise been 
 observed that there was a growing taste in the 
 community for Public Lectures ; and it was 
 deemed important to meet this demand by estab- 
 lishing Lectureships to be filled by men, who had 
 devoted their particular attention to such branches 
 of instruction as might be assigned to them. And 
 though last, not least, when arrangements had 
 been made for all these various departments of 
 knowledge, it was believed that a complete system 
 of education should embody careful provision to 
 sanctify knowledge as well as to enlarge its 
 boundaries; and to show that the discoveries of - 
 Science, so far from conflicting with Religion, can 
 be arrayed around her altars, both to illustrate their 
 glory, and to insure their safety against the 
 assatdts of Lifidelity. 
 
 As these views were constantly acquiring new 
 weight among us, at the request of several 
 gentlemen, in December, 1829, 1 invited a meeting 
 
Persons and Events. 193 
 
 of a few friends at my house, when the outline 
 of a plan embracing these various objects was 
 laid before them. The result was a resolution 
 to call a more public meeting, and to submit 
 the whole matter to their deliberation, and to 
 learn how far our citizens would give their 
 support to such an Institution. The meeting em- 
 braced many of our most prominent citizens, 
 and the response was very prompt and cordial. 
 Committees were appointed on various subjects 
 connected with our design, and an appeal was 
 made through the Press to the Public for their 
 aid and co-operation. It was also resolved to 
 raise one hundred thousand dollars, as an 
 incipient endowment, and when this sum should 
 be secured, the contributors to elect a Council or 
 Corporators to whom the management of the 
 Institution should be entrusted. Measures were at 
 the same time taken to unite such existing Institu- 
 tions as the Lyceum of Natural History and the 
 Historical Society with the University, so as to 
 furnish it with the advantages of a valuable Cabi- 
 net and Library at the outset. 
 
 In the mean time, we aU felt that the magni- 
 tude of the undertaking required caution and 
 13 
 
194 Recollections of 
 
 very careful deliberation. There were some who 
 doubted the possibility of so adjusting the different 
 Departments contemplated as to make them work 
 harmoniously in one Institution. We had no 
 existing model in this respect from which we 
 could copy, and in which our plan had been 
 fairly and successfully tested; and in order to 
 obtain all the light within our reach, the Council, 
 soon after their election, determined to call a 
 Literary Convention for the purpose of obtaining 
 such views from well informed scholars as might 
 be of use to us. Invitations were accordingly 
 addressed to literary institutions and to individuals 
 throughout the country distinguished for their 
 learning, and especially for their full acquaintance 
 with the systems of liberal education pursued 
 both in our own and foreign countries. The 
 Convention met in October, 1830. There was a 
 very general attendance of all who had been 
 invited, and several of those who were unable to 
 be present sent written communications on ques- 
 tions which they wished to bring before the 
 Convention. As a proof of the interest felt in our 
 object, the City Authorities gave us the use of 
 the Common Council Chamber; and it is due to 
 
Persons and Events. 195 
 
 the gentlemen composing the Convention to say 
 that I have never seen an assembly of equal 
 numbers which comprised more intelligence and 
 character. The Council of the University had 
 appointed a Committee consisting of Hon. A. 
 Gallatin, Dr. Wainvrright, and myself, to prepare 
 an address to the Convention at the commencement 
 of their deliberations; and as Chairman of the 
 Committee, I presented to them the following 
 statement of our views and of subjects to be 
 submitted to their consideration. 
 
 "Me. Peesident and Gentlemen op the Convention: 
 
 "It has been highly gratifying to learn how 
 generally the late movements in this City, on the 
 subject of Education and Letters have met with 
 the approbation of wise and good men through- 
 out the nation. Much as our country owes to 
 her excellent Colleges, the sentiment seems to be 
 general, that the time has arrived when she calls 
 for something more ; when she requires Institu- 
 tions which shall give increased maturity to her 
 Literature, and also an enlarged diffusion to the 
 blessings of Education ; and which she may 
 
196 Recollections of 
 
 present to the world as maintaining an honorable 
 competition with the Universities of Europe. By 
 general consent, too, it has been considered that 
 it is both the duty and the privilege of New 
 York to be, at least, one of the places which 
 should lead the way in this noble work ; and for 
 reasons that are equally obvious and urgent. 
 
 "This City is the commercial metropolis of 
 the land ; and we owe it to the nation which is 
 enriching: us with its commerce, to be foremost 
 in creating and sustaining those institutions which 
 are indispensable to make knowledge and science 
 keep pace with our wealth. We owe it also to 
 ourselves. According to the Mythology of the 
 ancients, it was the same Divinity who presided 
 over wisdom and the liberal arts, who, in her 
 zeal for commerce, presented to the Argonauts, 
 the prophetic tree from the forest of Dodona, 
 which should guide and protect them in their 
 pursuit of the Golden Fleece; and there is a 
 wisdom in the fable, which shows that the sages 
 who invented it, well understood how the various 
 pursuits of men should be combined. Commerce 
 should ever be considered as inseparably allied to 
 science and the arts, and when they have been 
 
Persons and Events. 197 
 
 divorced from each other, the consequence has 
 always been disastrous to both; — commerce, and 
 the wealth that follows it, rendering a community 
 selfish and contracted, while science languishes 
 for the want of that support and countenance 
 which liberal wealth alone can bestow. But 
 when this alliance is sustained, we have only to 
 look at the commercial cities of Italy, to see the 
 happy result. It was Venice and other marts on 
 the shores of the Adriatic, that first rescued the 
 arts from the graves in which they had long been 
 entombed by the rude Goth; and drew back the 
 fabled Minerva to resume her abode in a land, 
 once her favorite home, but where her monuments 
 and temples had long been shattered or crumbled 
 into dust. 
 
 " It may be added, as another reason for commen- 
 cing this enterprise in our City, that the legitimate 
 object of a University is not only the education 
 of youth, but the ftiUer development of the minds 
 of men ; and for this object, the dense and nu- 
 merous population of a city creates advantages that 
 are incalculably important. Intellectual commun- 
 ion is so much desired by all men, and especially 
 by the learned, that it is only when the dis- 
 
198 Recollections of 
 
 tinguished proficients in any department of knowl- 
 edge can so cluster together as to form a world of 
 their own, and thus stimulate each other in their 
 common pursuits, that conspicuous excellence can 
 be most successfully developed. The greatest 
 scholars and artists who now adorn the Halls of 
 Science in London and Paris, would never have 
 grown to their giant stature, had they been scat- 
 tered among the villages or hamlets of France and 
 England. Feeling themselves alone in their views, 
 the sense of solitude of itself would, in some 
 degree, have palsied their powers, and have induced 
 them either to abandon their aim, or relax in their 
 high pursuits. But in the variety of intellectual 
 worlds which a populous City furnishes the means 
 of creating, they have found, that as 'iron sharpen- 
 eth iron, so doth the countenance of a man his 
 friend.' It is in this contact of mind with mind, 
 that these men of renown have become their 
 country's ornaments, and blessings to the world. 
 
 " Besides these advantages and responsibilities 
 common to all great commercial cities, there are 
 other circumstances belonging to the state of 
 letters in New York, that strongly invited us to 
 the establishment of a University in this city 
 
Persons and Events. 199 
 
 without delay. To quote a fact from a valuable 
 communication hereafter to be laid before this 
 assembly, — ' A very few years ago, the govern- 
 ment of Bavaria opened a University in Munich, 
 a city not much more than one third as large as 
 New York ; but as former ages had already collec- 
 ted there, hospitals, a very valuable museum, a 
 magnificent library and other fixtures, the establish- 
 ment, within a year after its formation, went into 
 successfnl operation. So, too, at Berlin, a city by 
 far the largest in Northern Germany, yet inferior 
 to New York in wealth, business and population ; 
 a royal library, hospitals, a most admirable cabinet 
 of Natural History, were at once given to lend a 
 lustre to the rising University, and its growth into 
 celebrity was sure and rapid. But it took nearly 
 a century to bring Gottingen to its present high 
 distinction — inasmuch as the materiel of knowledge 
 was not furnished to its hand.' 
 
 " It ia in the power of a University in this city, 
 to avail itself of the advantages which have 
 operated so propitiously at Munich and Berlin. 
 There are here various literary associations that 
 have either languished ox failed to reach the 
 distinction they both deserved and desired, for the 
 
200 Recollections of 
 
 want of close alliance and mutual support. ' Union 
 is strength' — and on the broad foundation, now 
 laid, these various institutions have already become 
 so far united, as to acquire strength themselves; 
 while at the same time, they furnish a great 
 amount of means to the University which unites 
 them, by which it can enlarge and hasten its 
 usefulness to the community. The Lyceum of 
 Natural History, with a promptness and unanimity 
 which have always characterized its proceedings, 
 led the way in this important movement ; and has 
 thus famished a liberal endowment for improve- 
 ment in that interesting department of knowledge. 
 The Historical Society next followed, and has thus 
 brought to the University a Library, which is 
 invaluable to the CivU Historian. The Directors of 
 the New York Athenaeum have also unanimously 
 resolved to accept of the pTOflfer made to them by 
 the University ; and wait only for a vote of the 
 Patrons, as to the amount of their capital which 
 should be invested in books to enlarge their 
 present collection, in order to conclude the contem- 
 plated union. It is believed too, that other 
 Societies, actuated by an enlightened regard to 
 their own usefulness, and the public good, will 
 
Persons and Events. 201 
 
 follow these conspicuous examples ; and thus may 
 these various Institutions, which, however excellent 
 in themselves, have lain hitherto like scattered or 
 disunited columns, be erected into a Temple of 
 Science, equally perfect and magnificent as a 
 whole, and harmonious in the adaptation of its 
 parts. 
 
 " Let it not be imagined, that these hopes, 
 sanguine as they may appear, are wild and 
 visionary. "We indeed have acted, and we intend 
 to act on the maxim, that 'if we expect great 
 things, we must attempt great things ;' and thus 
 far, our attempts have been crowned with success, 
 and our expectations have been realized. ' Rome 
 was not built in a day ;' and we have not been so 
 unwise, and so little acquainted with the nature of 
 our work, as to expect to create a University, 
 complete throughout all its parts, in one or two 
 years. We feel that we have yet much to do ; 
 much to do in adding increased means to the 
 Institution ; and also much to do in devising and 
 maturing a system of government and instruction, 
 adapted to the state and wants of our country. It 
 is on these topics that we, are desirous of having 
 the views of such gentlemen as are here present ; 
 
202 Recollections of 
 
 and we have been induced to invite this meeting 
 believing that we should both enjoy and bestow 
 a benefit by the measure. Whatever knowledge 
 any of us can throw into the common stocky 
 must be for the advantage not of one Institution, 
 but of all with which any of us may be particu- 
 larly connected. 
 
 " In this age of the world, distinguished by 
 what some men, in ridicule, and others in serious- 
 ness, term ' the march of mind,' it cannot be 
 disguised that the interests of literature are some- 
 what jeopardized by the very efforts made to 
 improve them. Innovators are not always bene- 
 factors, as the world has often learned by painful 
 experience; and there is great danger, lest the 
 spirit of reform, now so active, may sweep away 
 many of the old and venerable landmarks which 
 ought to be preserved. In our review of what 
 literature has been, we should rather inquire, 
 not what can be relinquished, but what can 
 be usefully retained; and while we bring every 
 thing to the test of practical utility, whether 
 old or new, let us not forget that it is the 
 most precious seed that is sometimes longest 
 in producing its invaluable fruits. On eveiy 
 
Persons and Events. 203 
 
 subject, however, that may come before us, it 
 is the general wish that all opinions should be 
 freely expressed. If they collide, so be it. The 
 collision is nothing more than that of minds 
 honestly aiming at the same great end. Let 
 every sentiment be advanced with the purpose 
 ' valeat quantum valere potest.^ It is only by 
 'proving all things,' that we can 'hold fast that 
 which is good;' and should we pursue the 
 object of this meeting, with this frank and 
 fearless spirit, the result cannot fail to be happy. 
 "Let me congratulate all who are now before 
 me, that on so short a notice, our assembly is 
 so respectably and numerously attended. We 
 may view it as an earnest of His favor 'from 
 whom all holy desires, all good counsels, and all 
 just works do proceed ;' and before whom we 
 have united in presenting our prayers for His 
 presence and direction in our deliberations. From 
 the first, it was contemplated that this meeting 
 should be introductory to others which should 
 draw together in still greater numbers our leading 
 men in the republic of letters ; and judging from 
 the auspicious appearance of this day, why may 
 not science hereafter expect to have in our land her 
 
204 Recollections of 
 
 council of Amphictyons, whose decisions shall 
 become as venerated and as useful, as were those 
 of the venerable sages, to whom Greece, in her 
 best days, rendered an homage that was alike the 
 glory of those who gave and of those who received 
 it." 
 
 The Convention continued in session for several 
 days with increasing interest to the last, and was 
 the occasion of drawing out information and 
 suggestions on the educational wants of the nation, 
 which were at once published, and were sub- 
 sequently acknowledged to be of valuable service 
 both to the University and to other Seminaries of 
 Learning. 
 
 Encouraged by these multiplying proofs of 
 public favor, the Council proceeded to obtain a 
 Charter from the Legislature. The Charter was 
 granted with much unanimity, and as a first step 
 towards organization, officers of the Council and 
 a Chancellor were appointed. 
 
 When the Chancellorship was tendered to me, 
 I was perplexed as to my duty by various con- 
 siderations. It was my happiness at the time to 
 be Pastor of a Church which had shown an attach- 
 
Persons and Events. 205 
 
 raent to me, perhaps not often surpassed; and they 
 feared that if I accepted an office requiring so 
 much care, labor, and time, my attachment to them 
 might be weakened, and my health, if not my life, 
 be sacrificed by the weight of my duties in the 
 double responsibility of Pastor and Chancellor. 
 On the other hand, the friends of the University 
 urged my acceptance, as I was familiar with the 
 whole scheme of the Institution from its inception, 
 and must be supposed to know how to carry out 
 its several Departments to completion, and at the 
 same time give unity to it as a whole. At length, 
 with the understanding that I should be at liberty 
 to retire from the Institution when organized and 
 in operation, my friends in the Church consented to 
 my acceptance of the Chancellorship ; and at the 
 same time, lest my health should suffer from labor 
 beyond my strength, they kindly resolved to call 
 an associate Pastor for my aid. With this under- 
 standing as to the duration of my labors in the 
 University, I accepted the appointment. 
 
 There was another source of anxiety when I 
 contemplated the duties and responsibilities of the 
 office. Mere under-graduate instruction as taught in 
 most of our Colleges was but a part, rather a small 
 
206 Recollections op 
 
 part, of the scheme we had devised for the 
 University ; and one hundred thousand dollars was 
 but a moiety of an adequate endowment. The 
 question naturally arose, " Will the Public furnish 
 the means of doing all we contemplated ?" I knew 
 that we had among the first patrons of the Uni- 
 versity some of the most liberal and noble-heart- 
 ed men in our City, on whose continued co-operation 
 and liberality we might rely to the end. But might 
 not some sudden and serious commercial convulsion 
 arise, which would impair the ability of even 
 the most generous to assume new responsibilities ; 
 and might not others grow impatient if we should 
 fail to secure new friends to the enterprise ? Judg- 
 ing from his own generous heart, Dr. Wainwright 
 with those who sympathized with him, was 
 sanguine. Mr. Gallatin, with the habitual caution 
 of the man, was not so certain. As for myself, I 
 could not avoid feeling some distrust ; but I still 
 cherished belief in our final success. My mind had 
 always turned to a grant from the State as a 
 means of giving increased confidence to the friends 
 already enlisted in our cause, and of awakening a 
 more general interest in our welfare. I was 
 greatly encouraged by conferences which I had 
 
Persons and Events. 207 
 
 witli the various State Authorities, and the final 
 and unanimous conclusion was to make a beginning. 
 Accordingly, in the Autumn of 1832, Professors 
 were inaugurated to fill the following Chairs, viz. : 
 
 Evidences of Revealed Religion. 
 
 Intellectual and Moral Philosophy and Belles 
 Lettres. 
 
 Mathematics and Astronomy. 
 
 Natural Philosophy, Architecture, and Civil 
 Engineering. 
 
 Chemistry, Mineralogy, and Botany. 
 
 Sculpture and Painting. 
 
 Greek and Oriental Languages and Literature. 
 
 Hebrew Language and Literature. 
 
 Latin and Greek Languages and Literature. 
 
 German Language and Literature. 
 
 Spanish Language and Literature. 
 
 Italian Language and Literature. 
 
 French Language and Literature. 
 
 Lecturers were also announced as having been 
 appointed by the Council, on 
 
 History, Geography, and Chronology. 
 
 History of Commerce, Agriculture, and Me- 
 chanic Arts. 
 
208 Recollections of 
 
 Sacred Antiquities. 
 Physical Astronomy. 
 
 TheKev. Dr. Milnor acted as President of the 
 Council at the ceremony of Inauguration, and at 
 the same time delivered the following pertinent 
 Address : 
 
 " In performing, Fellow Citizens, theduty which 
 has been devolved upon me by my respected Col- 
 leagues in the Council of the University of the 
 City of New York, it will not become me, nor 
 would I presume to anticipate that full exposition 
 of the merits of this interesting enterprise, which 
 will be made by its presiding Officer. 
 
 " Its objects, and the mode of their accomplish- 
 ment, fully as to principle, and with a sufficient 
 degree of clearness and precision as to the details 
 of its intended operations, have been stated in 
 various successive publications. Those to whom 
 have been confided the incipient labors of the under- 
 taking, have been desirous that the most intelli- 
 gible and frank explanations of their views and 
 intentions should be placed before the Public. 
 Since the constitution of a responsible Council by 
 
Persons and Events. 209 
 
 the suffrages of the Contributors, the members of 
 that body deemed this to be required, by duty to 
 their constituents, and respect to the great commu- 
 nity on which this Institution rests its hopes of 
 success. 
 
 "The developments thus made have exhibited 
 it as a design of a far more comprehensive char- 
 acter than this metropolis has yet witnessed. The 
 amazing and constant increase of its population, the 
 growing desire of many in all classes of society for 
 intellectual culture, and the immense advantage of 
 multiplying facilities for the scientific, literary, 
 moral, and religious instruction of the young, led 
 to the formation of the liberal and enlarged plan 
 of a University, whose arrangements should be 
 liable to no just exception on the part of any, and 
 should accommodate the wants of all. With no 
 invidious or unkind feeling towards existing Sem- 
 inaries of Learning, it was thought practicable to 
 furnish in various departments of the same institu- 
 tion, young men whose intended pursuits in life 
 might be considered not to require the acquisition 
 of classical learning, with the means of a thorough 
 education in other interesting branches; and such 
 whose inclinations, talents, and expectations might 
 14 
 
210 Recollections of 
 
 lead to desires more extensive, not only with the 
 portion of learning usually dispensed in colleges; 
 but, if desired, with that more exalted measure of 
 attainment, especially in classical studies afforded 
 by the most eminent Seats of Learning in the 
 transatlantic world. 
 
 "So powerful has been the impression on the 
 minds of many that this City should possess a 
 Seminary formed on so grand a scale, and that 
 the munificence of its favored inhabitants would 
 speedily supply the funds required for its erection 
 and support, that, in humble dependence on the 
 Divine blessing, it has been determined, even with 
 a subscription rather commenced than completed, 
 no longer to delay the actual commencement of its 
 duties. However expedient it might have seemed 
 to postpone this measure until the erection of the 
 Edifice, which will ere long accommodate' its labors, 
 and ornament our City, there has been indicated an 
 impatience in the public mind for a beginning of 
 the work of instruction, to which the Council is 
 now happy to have it in its power to yield. "We 
 desire to be grateful to Him on whose favor this 
 and every human undertaking depends, that we 
 have been able to surmount many difficulties, and 
 
Persons and Events. 211 
 
 especially the interruption of our efforts by the 
 prevalence of epidemic sickness. Whether it 
 regard the character desired in Professors, the 
 sufficiency in number of pupils ready for matricula- 
 tion, or the accommodations requisite for the 
 instruction of our classes, we have reason to believe 
 that the wishes of our patrons will be happily met. 
 We are persuaded that if high moral and literary 
 qualifications in Professors, a faithful attention to 
 their duties, and a careful, unremitted oversight on 
 the part of the Council, will secure the approbation 
 of a liberal and enlightened community, we have 
 reason to entertain the most sanguine hopes. On 
 one subject connected with this great design, T 
 trust I may be indulged one or two remarks, before 
 I proceed to introduce to this respected audience, 
 the Gentlemen who are to sustain the rank of Pro- 
 fessors and instructors of the youth committed to 
 the charge of this University. 
 
 " If the advancement of the interests of science 
 and literature be a subject of great concern to the 
 lover of his country, if he be a Christian Patriot, 
 his gratification will be enhanced in proportion as 
 efforts for that purpose are conducted under the 
 sanction and obligations of religion. Instead of 
 
212 Recollections of 
 
 deriving pleasure from seeing Seminaries of learn- 
 ing rising up with a professed independence of this 
 essential property, or a doubtful estimate of its 
 importance, he would see in every such attempt a 
 machinery calculated to undermine the very foun- 
 dations of human happiness, and aim a destructive 
 blow at the best securities of national liberty, and 
 social peace and order. Contemporaneously, there- 
 fore, with the earliest movements in that under- 
 taking, to the active prosecution of whose duties 
 this evening's exercises will be the introduction, its 
 originators contemplated its being made, not a 
 sectarian but a Christian University. All the 
 measures preparatory to its organization have been 
 conducted with a steady view to this principle. 
 Without tendering the most satisfactory assurances 
 for its maintenance, we would not presume to look 
 to a Chiistian Community for countenance and aid. 
 While the provisions of the Charter of the Univer- 
 sity guard with sedulous care against the predomi- 
 nance of any particular Denomination in its affairs, 
 and its instructions will have no reference to the 
 existing varieties of polity and doctrine, it will 
 hold up with unshaken firmness a Standard ao-ainst 
 Infidelity, and encourage its pupils in the acquisi- 
 
Persons and Events. 213 
 
 tion of a Christian hope, and the practice of the 
 duties of a Christian life. By imbuing their minds 
 with the well-grounded claims of the Sacred Scrip- 
 tures to their full belief, by the introduction of the 
 Bible as a Classic, and so conducting our students 
 to a knowledge of its incomparable literature and 
 interesting antiquities, and by exhibiting its con- 
 tents as furnishing a divinely revealed rule of 
 human duty, and the only guide to happiness 
 beyond the grave, we hope to be continually found 
 auxiliaries in the cause of Christianity, and instru- 
 ments in promoting its desired influence upon the 
 hearts and lives of men. Our University, we trust, 
 will exhibit the entire practicability of uniting as 
 full a regard to the claims of piety as prevails in 
 any of the literary institutions that adorn and bless 
 our favored country, with an entire avoidance of 
 infiingement on the peculiarities of any of the 
 Sects, into which it is divided. It is not our 
 province to condemn the establishment, where it is 
 deemed expedient, by particular Denominations, of 
 Institutions having more or less in view the pro- 
 motion of their own immediate interests. But it is 
 believed entirely possible, nay, pre-eminently desi- 
 rable, that in an age distinguished for so much 
 
214 Recollections of 
 
 generous feeling and united effort among Christians, 
 there should be, in such a wealthy, rapidly improv- 
 ing Metropolis as ours, at least one great Institu- 
 tion of the kind now commending itself to public 
 support, framed on such catholic principles as to 
 offend the predilections of no candid mind, and yet 
 essentially subserving the practical ends at which 
 it professes to aim. We have confidence in this 
 well designed experiment. We think it worthy of 
 universal approbation ; and under this persuasion, 
 solicit for it your co-operation and your prayers. 
 The full organization of all the contemplated 
 Faculties has not yet been effected; but the 
 progress made in a work so arduous and delicate, 
 will, we trust, evince no remissness on the part of 
 the Council in their efforts to present our Univer- 
 sity, at its outset, in the most advantageous 
 light possible to a discerning Public." 
 
 The following Address, which I had been 
 appointed to deliver on the occasion as a response 
 from the Professors to the Council, exhibits views 
 of the Executive Officers, when taking charge of 
 the Institution, which were considered at the time 
 as both important and seasonable. 
 
Persons and Events. 215 
 
 Mb. Pbesident and membebs of the Coitnoil : 
 
 The rise of a University iu the midst of any com- 
 munity creates an important era in its history. It 
 must be felt, for good or for evil, in all the interests 
 and relations of society, whether civil or religious. 
 If its foundations are wisely laid, and the super- 
 structure wisely raised, and if the whole is 
 animated by that living Spirit which was seen 
 moving the wheels in the vision of the prophet, 
 such an Institution becomes a fountain of health 
 and safety to the public mind ; and coming 
 generations will call the memory of its founders 
 blessed. Such have been the views of cities and 
 countries in the Old World which have been most 
 distinguished both in arts and in arms. When 
 Leyden had sustained the memorable siege which 
 rendered her a theme of praise and wonder 
 throughout Europe, the Prince of Orange, it is said, 
 was carried fi'om his sick-bed to the heroic city, 
 that he might bestow on the inhabitants a boon 
 which it became a Prince like him to give, and a 
 people like them to receive. He offered them the 
 choice of either freedom from taxation, or the 
 establishment of a University. They wisely chose 
 
216 Recollections of 
 
 the latter, and the renown and intelligence which 
 it brought to their city showed the wisdom of 
 their choice. We may very propei'ly add, it was 
 in the University of Leyden that many of those 
 divines and statesmen who have contiibuted to lay 
 the foundations of our own City, were educated 
 for usefulness and fame. 
 
 There are circumstances, however, connected 
 with the commencement of the Institution which 
 has assembled on this evening that are peculiarly 
 interesting and momentous to us as a Community. 
 Every individual who is called to act in the 
 theatre of life must expect to pass through a 
 period which is a crisis in the formation of his 
 moral and intellectual character; and just accord- 
 ing as a propitious and powerful influence is then 
 exercised upon him, will his future career be happy, 
 if not brilliant. It has been cogently, though per- 
 haps quaintly said, the youth is father to the man ; 
 and if the faculties of youth are not moulded 
 and formed aright, before they have stififened into 
 the rigidity of manhood, reformation always is 
 rare, and never is complete. 
 
 The same is true of Communities. Change is a 
 law of their being also, and they pass through all 
 
Persons and Events. 217 
 
 the stages of it, from youth to manhood, and 
 from manhood to age. If, in early life, an 
 influence is exerted on them which tends to 
 liheralize and enlighten the public mind, and to 
 infuse into it those healing and elevating habits of 
 thinking and acting, which acquaintance with the 
 truths of science and revelation alone can impart ; 
 we should see arise before us cities and countries 
 combining all the delicacy and beauty of the 
 Grecian age, with the strong and enduring worth 
 of a better, because a Christian era. 
 
 The most casual observer must see that our 
 City has arrived at this crisis in its history. It is 
 now not only in its youth, but a youth much 
 overgrown for its years. It has shot up with a 
 rapidity that defies calculation, numbering in its 
 population, multitudes from every quarter of our 
 globe which are not yet assimilated into a common 
 character or animated by a common spirit. Our 
 intellectual character is yet, in a great degree, to be 
 formed ; our community is yet in that plastic state 
 in which it cannot remain long, but must soon 
 become set either to our honor or dishonor. 
 
 Who then does not see the great importance of 
 the intellectual and moral cultivation that should 
 
218 Recollections of 
 
 now be bestowed on this city, the great Metropo- 
 lis, not only of this nation, but of this western 
 world ? Evils that may fasten upon us now in the 
 short space of a day, may require the labors of 
 centuries to remove ; for they would grow vnth our 
 growth and strengthen with our strength. And 
 for the same reason, is every taste and habit of 
 moral and intellectual improvement, that may now 
 be formed, of incalculable worth to us. They 
 will become identified vsdth our being, and be lost 
 only when we ourselves shall be no more. 
 
 Hence the importance of an Institution like 
 this, and at this time — an Institution that is 
 designed to unite in cordial fi-aternity with others 
 in giving a new impulse to the spread of knowl- 
 edge, and in carrying the literaiy character of our 
 country to maturity and perfection. 
 
 We are aware that broad and enlarged as our 
 scheme of instruction is, it has been thought by 
 some impracticable, to lie beyond the age and 
 circumstances in which we are placed. So has it 
 always been said by some men concerning every 
 thing new and great. So was it said of Columbus, 
 when he embarked in the discovery of a New 
 Continent. So was it said of Fulton when he first 
 
Persons and Events. 219 
 
 attempted navigation by steam. So was it said 
 of Clinton when he identified his name vrith the 
 Great Western Canal. But what has the result 
 proved ? There are men who seem born to be 
 doubters, and who must be left to labor in their 
 vocation. But there are men also of ingenuous 
 and honorable minds, who may have questioned 
 the seasonableness and practicability of this enter- 
 prise, who will be glad to learn, as they see its pro- 
 gress, that they had been in error, and who will be 
 the readiest to own that now is the time which calls 
 for a University like this, and especially entitles it 
 to their confidence and co-operation. Such ac- 
 cessions to its friends, we are happy to say, it is 
 daily making. 
 
 But in order the more ftilly to satisfy the public 
 mind, it is proper on the present occasion, to show 
 what are some of the principal features of the 
 Institution which is now presented to them. 
 
 As to its religious character, it is Christian, and 
 is taken from the broad foundation of Christian 
 truth as revealed in the Bible. It is not Sectarian. 
 There are men who perhaps would call it so, for 
 there are men with whom every thing is Sectarian, 
 but infidelity and iireligion ; with whom the Bible 
 
220 Recollections op 
 
 is a Sectarian Book, and the Most High Himself a 
 Sectarian Divinity. "iVb?j. tali auxUio nee deftn- 
 soi'ibus istisj'' is this Institution to rise and to be 
 sustained. With their present views, we neither 
 court their approbation nor expect it, much as we 
 may desire to benefit them or their sons. But in 
 the eyes of a vast majority of an intelligent 
 community like ours, it is well understood that 
 sect is one thing and Christianity another ; and the 
 line of distinction between them is every day 
 becoming broader and deeper. Accordingly, while 
 the University will do nothing to subserve the 
 objects of sect, and respecting which good men will 
 differ and will agree to differ, yet does it avow its 
 purpose distinctly to hold up the Bible as the 
 inspired revelation of God's will, to hold up its 
 moral law as the only rule of duty, and its Divine 
 Author as the only hope of a lost world. 
 
 In one respect, I may say, it intends to go 
 farther than is usual on sacred ground. As *a 
 classic containing examples of the most correct and 
 perfect taste in letters, and as a depository of 
 learning in which the stores of science lie embalmed 
 and consecrated, the Bible has not been suffi- 
 ciently a subject of study in many of our seats of 
 
Persons and Events. 22.1 
 
 learning. I have no doubt this is one reason why 
 so many of our learned men have either rejected 
 the Holy Book, or have regarded it with entire 
 indifference. In the halls of science where their 
 minds were formed, they saw it treated too much 
 as a book that was to be laid on the shelf, and they 
 had been led to condemn or neglect it without 
 examining it. Whereas, had they been carefully 
 instructed in even the literary excellencies of the 
 Scriptures, they might have learned in those tints 
 of glory which adorn the bow of promise, to revere 
 the hand of Him who made it and who spread it 
 forth. 
 
 In this and in other ways, will the University 
 aim to combine the salutary influence of religious 
 knowledge with the enlargement and cultivation 
 of the mind in the wide field of science and of 
 letters. And without this influence superadded, do 
 what we may to impart knowledge, we do more 
 evil than good both to our students and the world. 
 The intellectual powers of the greater part of man- 
 kind lie comparatively dormant from the cradle to 
 the grave. But when you educate the man, when 
 you awake and elicit his faculties, you have aroused 
 powers that will be ceaseless and irresistible in 
 
222 Recollections of 
 
 their action ; and I can imagine no state of society 
 worse than where a community becomes knowing, 
 acute and active, and yet destitute of the restraints 
 and directions arising from moral cultivation. You 
 may create stars in such a firmament ; but like the 
 star in the Apocalypse, when they fall into the foun- 
 tains of health among men, they turn them into 
 wormwood and death. You may raise up 
 Samsons, but they are Samsons without eyes ; and 
 though in their gigantic strength they may work 
 wonders, yet will they be wonders of ruin and 
 desolation, alike destructive to themselves and to 
 all within their reach. 
 
 Such are our views briefly expressed on this 
 important subject, and in accordance with which 
 we intend to act. For, while as the friends both of 
 religion and of civil power, we deprecate every 
 approach to a union of Church and State, yet do 
 we view the alliance of Religion and Learning as 
 indispensable to the well-being of both. 
 
 The place to be assigned to Classical Literature, 
 and how it is to be cultivated, next demand a few 
 observations. You are aware that on this subject, 
 a discussion has arisen that is absorbing more and 
 more of public attention in the world of letters. 
 
Persons and Events. 223 
 
 Much as the Heathen Classics are to be admired as 
 models of composition, for their lucid aiTangemeiit 
 of thought, for their purity of diction, for their 
 command over every power of the imagination 
 and the heart, yet are they debased by such 
 gross immorality, such wild and yet insinuating 
 denials of the true God, that it begins to be 
 questioned whether there is not more evil than 
 good derived from the study of them. There are 
 those, I know, who can affect to despise this 
 question, and whose constant cry is, "Great is 
 Diana of the Ephesians, — Great is Diana of the 
 Ephesians," and is uttered with as much intoler- 
 ance and impatience as were manifested by the 
 Ephesian multitudes in the days of the Apostles. 
 
 But the question still must be met, and it is 
 one of the good indications of moral feeling in our 
 day, that it has been raised. It is not denied that 
 the minds of our youth have been improved by the 
 study of the Classics ; nor do I think it would be 
 desirable to seal up these Castalian fountains, forbid- 
 ding students to approach them. But that evil has 
 resulted from these polished authors of antiquity 
 as they are too generally studied, is a fact that 
 cannot be denied; nor is the evil the less because 
 
224 Recollections of 
 
 not developing itself at once on the moral feelings 
 of our youth, or not plainly perceptible when it , 
 first influences the heart. There is a reflected light 
 diffused from Christianity that influences silently 
 many who are not really Christians, but who live 
 in constant contact with its truths ; and in like 
 manner there is an influence from the pages of 
 Heathenism that bewilders and overpowers the 
 moral feeling of the youth who is brought into 
 habitual contact with them, though he may not 
 feel it at the time. But as in their case the seeds 
 of truth unfold themselves in after life, and produce 
 fmit "some thirty, some sixty and some an hundred 
 fold ;" so in the other case, the serpent which had 
 crept into the heart, concealed beneath the flowers of 
 Parnassiis, after a while raises its Hydra head, and 
 poisons the bosom in which it had lain dormant. 
 
 What then is to be done in the case? it is 
 asked ; and I have already answered, I am not 
 prepared to say that these writings of antiquity 
 should be shut out from our Schools or Colleges 
 and Universities. This would be like rejecting 
 from our edifices all the beautiful orders of archi- 
 tecture because formerly employed in decorating 
 Pagan Temples. Nor am I prepared to say that 
 
Persons and Events. 225 
 
 the time has yet come, as some have declared, when 
 we should reverse the order in which Languages 
 are usually studied, leading our students through 
 Hebrew, Greek and Latin, instead of directino- 
 them through Latin, Greek, and Hebrew. But 
 this we avow, and thus far do we go most con- 
 fidently. In arranging a system for Classical educa- 
 tion, it is of infinite and special importance that 
 every man who is entnisted with this Department 
 of instruction should not only be a ripe scholar, 
 but he should also be imbued wdth a spirit of 
 piety, and well acquainted with the great and 
 cardinal truths of Christianity ; that he may thus 
 be qualified to disinfect the atmosphere through 
 which he leads his pupils, poisoned as it is with 
 worse than Roman malaria. Under such guidance 
 we will not so much fear to put a Virgil, or a 
 Horace, or a Juvenal, or a Lucian, or a Pindar into 
 the hands of our youth ; for these writers may thus 
 be disenchanted of those dangerous fascinations 
 which are most calculated to mislead; they may thus 
 be employed to benefit the mind and form the taste 
 without corrupting the heart ; and their very defects 
 be made of service to set forth in strong contrast 
 
 the unalloyed excellence of that one Book which is 
 15 
 
226 Recollections of 
 
 first and alone in matter and in manner. In this 
 way it is the design of this Institution to form 
 Classical scholars, and with a view of giving such 
 a scholarship a very prominent place in the system 
 it has adopted, the Department of Learned Lan- 
 guages is so arranged and filled as to combine the 
 training in the Classics commonly given in our 
 Colleges with that higher exegetical instruction in 
 Classical Literature, which is given in many of the 
 Universities of Europe. 
 
 Had I time, I would dwell at some length on 
 the importance which the LTniversity will attach 
 to Mathematical and Physical Science. Not only 
 do we live in a practical age, but we dwell in the 
 midst of a practical Community. Hence have 
 we felt it incumbent upon us to make wide and 
 extensive provision for instruction in the useful 
 arts. To be useful, is our great object, and while 
 we are far from proscribing the polite arts as of no 
 utility, they should not be allowed to throw into 
 the shade those which contribute more directly to 
 the wants and convenience of man. But while for 
 reasons which are sufficiently obvious, we have 
 been desirous to afford every facility for acquiring 
 the knowledge which ministers immediately to the 
 
Persons and Events. 227 
 
 practical purposes of life, there are reasons why we 
 have been particularly anxious that if our youth 
 are led into the field of Physical Science at all, 
 we should give them instruction which will be 
 thorough and full. A smatterer in any thing is 
 despicable ; but a smatterer in Physics is both dan- 
 gerous and despicable. It is in these very fields 
 of knowledge, the field of the Astronomer, of the 
 Chemist, the Mineralogist, the Botanist, the Ge- 
 ologist, in which by constant converse with 
 nature, men ought to be led " from nature up to 
 nature's God," that we too often find science per- 
 verted to shut out our Maker from His world and 
 from the minds of men. Divine or revealed truth 
 has nothing to fear, but much to hope ; nothing 
 to lose, but much to gain from deep and thorough 
 investigations in Physics ; and if men woidd look 
 long enough and deep enough into the laws which 
 govern the material world, they could never be 
 inclined to array the works of the Creator against 
 His word. 
 
 There is a much closer affinity between sciolists 
 and sceptics than is generally imagined. 
 
 But there is still another reason why we are so 
 desirous to carry the study of natural science to an 
 
228 Recollections of 
 
 elevated standard. It is taken from the character 
 of our country. Nature is always true to her own 
 sketches. She never draws outlines that deceive, 
 but makes the filling up to correspond with them. 
 Who then can look on the broad and majestic 
 rivers, and the high and lofty mountains that dis- 
 tinguish the face of this Continent, without con- 
 cluding that beneath the surface are treasures of 
 corresponding richness and value. And yet how 
 little has been done to explore and to improve 
 them. It is but of late that the public mind has 
 been turned toward the subject, and now when in- 
 dividual munificence is beginning to act and to pro- 
 vide the means for discoveries, how desirable that 
 our Seats of Learning should provide men ably and 
 extensively versed in the whole range of natural 
 science for the labor of exploring and bringing to 
 light the hidden treasures of our mountains and 
 our valleys. There are mines yet Ipng undisturbed 
 in their bosoms, more precious than the mines of 
 gold and sUver from which the cupidity of other 
 nations have drawn so largely ; and we fondly 
 anticipate the day when to this and other Literary 
 Institutions of the land, our Statesmen will look 
 for men who are to unlock her treasures of wealth 
 
Persons and Events. 229 
 
 to the nation, provide increased employment for her 
 enterprising spirit, and make earth, air, and sea all 
 furnish fresh and enlarged tribute to the comfort, 
 the safety, and the happiness of man. What a 
 glorious day will that be, when the light of 
 Heaven's truth and favor shall shine over all our 
 Seminaries of Learning : and 
 
 " As the web that's spread beneath the sun 
 Grows pure by being purely shone upon," 
 
 they shall thus be freed from every source of moral 
 pollution, and in their turn become fountains of 
 health and life ; when parents will look to them 
 not only as schools for the instruction of our youth, 
 but as Sanctuaries for their preservation from evil ; 
 when our rulers will view them as nurseries of the 
 nation's strength ; and when they shall be multi- 
 plied and spread abroad from border to border of 
 our land, as stai-s in a new firmament of knowledge. 
 
 The Professors had no sooner opened their 
 courses of instruction, than classes were formed 
 exceeding our expectations in the number of stu- 
 dents, and which soon entirely outgrew our accom- 
 modations. For as yet we had no building of our 
 
230 Recollections of 
 
 own. We had depended on apartments in one 
 building after another as we could best find them, 
 and these by no means adapted to our wants. Of 
 course the subject of erecting an edifice for our- 
 selves necessarily soon came before the Council. 
 The measure was farther recommended by the 
 consideration that the patronage of the State could 
 be more readily secured, when it should be seen 
 that we had a local habitation as well as a name ; 
 and indeed we all felt that until this object was 
 accomplished, the Institution could not possess 
 that aspect of stability which was necessary to 
 secure lasting patronage from either private or 
 public munificence. The sentiment also was general 
 that in order to secure the liberality of our citizens, 
 we must place before them a building that would 
 correspond with the prevailing taste in architec- 
 ture, and that it would be more difficult to raise 
 means for the erection of an edifice on a small and 
 inferior scale, than for one more costly but better 
 adapted, both to our own convenience and the 
 ambition of the public. A plan was accordingly 
 adopted for the building which now stands as a 
 memorial of the liberality then shown by the 
 friends of the Institution. 
 
Persons and Events. 231 
 
 The comer stone was laid in the summer of 
 1833 with appropriate ceremonies, and in the 
 autumn of 1835, we entered the new edifice under 
 auspices in every respect encouraging. 
 
 Several new Professorships had been filled 
 besides those introduced at the opening of the 
 Institution, and the increasing number of students 
 found ample provision made for their instruction. 
 
 The various and diversified Departments of the 
 University, so far from colliding or interfering 
 with each other as some had feared, were seen not 
 only to harmonize together, but also to minister to 
 the strength and efficiency of each other and of the 
 whole Institution. The edifice had the approba- 
 tion of those who had been our patrons from the 
 first, and enlisted on our behalf many new friends ; 
 and believing that the time had come to justify an 
 application to the Legislature for a grant from the 
 State, it was laid before them. It met vnth a 
 favorable reception. The enlarged scheme of 
 instruction embraced in the plan of the University, 
 furnished a strong argument with the Legislature 
 to grant us an endowment from the State Treasury 
 as a fitting use of the public funds, and they ac- 
 cordingly granted us a yearly appropriation of six 
 
232 Recollections of 
 
 thousand dollars, besides a share in the Literature 
 Fund, amounting to at' least one thousand dollars 
 more, to be continued for five years, and until 
 otheiTvise ordered. 
 
 The endowment from the State came at a very 
 seasonable period. The Act was passed and the 
 first payment made, just before one of those pe- 
 riods of wide-spread pecuniary disaster which have 
 sometimes overtaken our City.^' The years of 1837 
 and 1838 will long be remembered in New York. 
 Men who had spent lives of honorable industry to 
 accumulate fortunes, saw the whole swept away 
 from them in the course of a few months; and 
 friends of the University bore their share in the 
 general calamity. But encouraged and strength- 
 ened by the appropriation from the State, al- 
 though the times were trying, they were met by 
 a display of new liberality. A careful investiga- 
 tion was made to ascertain the amount necessary 
 to meet existing demands which called for pay- 
 ment, and also to enable the Institution to main- 
 tain the various courses of instruction already in^ 
 troduced, and the sum required was at once raised, 
 chiefly by the early and tried friends of the Uni- 
 versity; and the Institution, as was supposed, 
 
Persons and Events. 233 
 
 placed beyond the reach of future pecuniary em- 
 barrassment. 
 
 In the mean time I began to feel that the cares 
 and labors through which I had passed during the 
 last eight or nine years, had made their mark upon 
 me. The internal affairs of the University in its 
 different departments required constant and careful 
 supervision. Though faithfully aided by members 
 of the Council, yet much of the labor in raising 
 funds to meet the exigencies through which the 
 Institution had passed came upon me, however 
 reluctant I felt to bear it. I had also in this event- 
 ful period in the history of the City, another 
 burden to carry. In the memorable fire of 1835, 
 our church in Exchange Place was reduced to 
 ashes. The folly of rebuilding on the same site 
 was so obvious that no one wished it to be done ; 
 but the question then arose, where should we go ? 
 Part of the congregation still lived at or near the 
 Battery, and a part had already moved up town. 
 As was natural, each wished the church when 
 rebuilt, to be placed in their own neighborhood. 
 No pastor attached to his people can see questions 
 of this kind arising in his church without anxiety 
 as to the result ; and during the period when the 
 
234 Recollections of 
 
 accumulated cares and labors growing out of my 
 relations to the church and the University were 
 pressing upon me, my Mends, especially my medi- 
 cal Mends, perceived that my health was suffering 
 before I was conscious of it myself I shall never 
 forget the serious look of several physicians who 
 assembled in my room one morning without my 
 knowledge of their purpose, and when I asked to 
 what I was indebted for the pleasure of seeing so 
 many of them together, they told me they had 
 come to save me from the grave, and then assured 
 me that I must detach myself from some, if not all 
 of my official duties, at least for a time, or sink 
 under the burden I was carrying. I felt that I 
 was bound to listen to advice so seriously and so 
 kindly given ; and it was not long before I became 
 conscious that it had not been given too soon. 
 Symptoms began to show themselves which con- 
 vinced me that duty to myself and my family 
 required me to lessen the amount of my labors, 
 and of course to retire from the church or the 
 University. On no account could I entertain 
 the purpose of severing my connection with the 
 church as it was then situated ; and although the 
 University had not yet reached that stage of devel- 
 
Persons and Events. 235 
 
 opment to which I had hoped to see it carried 
 before my retirement from the Chancellorship, 
 enough had been done to show what could be 
 done ; and I felt constrained to request the Council 
 to appoint^ my successor. Several of its members 
 earnestly opposed the idea of my resignation, and 
 urged that I should take a period of relaxation and 
 go abroad. My medical advisers thought differ- 
 ently, and advised that I should free myself from 
 care as well as from labor. After consultation, we 
 fixed upon Theodore Frelinghuysen, Esq., as the 
 man whom we would elect to take my place ; 
 when I transmitted my resignation to the Council, 
 and it was accepted. My communication to them 
 and their action upon it was as follows: 
 
 Univkksitt of the City of New York, 
 February llth, 1839. 
 
 To THE HOITOEABLE THE COUNCIL OF THE UnIVBESITT OP 
 
 THE City of New Yoek: 
 Gentlemen: — It is probably recollected by 
 the Council that I made a communication to 
 them in June last, stating that several medical 
 advisers had urged me, not only to take a respite 
 from my public labors, but to sever myself for a 
 
236 Recollections ob* 
 
 time from the scene and associations of my pres- 
 ent employment by going abroad. This advice 
 I then felt it my duty to follow, and accordingly 
 proposed to surrender my office as Chancellor into 
 the hands of the Council, 
 
 Obstacles which are well known imposed upon 
 me the necessity of deferring the execution of my 
 purpose. These are now successfully surmounted, 
 but the same reasons for taking a period of re- 
 laxation yet exist, and in still greater strength. 
 I am advised also, that in order to derive per- 
 manent advantage from the contemplated suspen- 
 sion of my labors, such arrangements should be 
 completed as will secure me against that accu- 
 mulation of official responsibilities which I have 
 borne for several years past. I accordingly feel 
 constrained to renew the proposition fonnerly 
 made, and to ask the action of the Council upon 
 it by the appointment of a successor in the 
 Chancellorship, as soon as they shall judge con- 
 venient and suitable arrangements can be made 
 for carrying it into effect. 
 
 The Council, I trust, will not consider me as 
 relinquishing any of my feelings of interest in the 
 Institution. My intimate connection with it from 
 
Persons and Events. 237 
 
 its origin mil not allow it to fade away from 
 my affection and my sympathies. But it has been 
 well understood by. many of my friends, that my 
 object, from the time of my appointment, has 
 been rather to co-operate with the Council in 
 founding and organizing a University on a scale 
 commensurate with the wants of the country, than 
 to continue at its head after it should have been 
 brought into complete operation. This object 
 I consider as mainly accomplished. The Faculties 
 of Philosophy and Letters, of Science and Arts, 
 and of Law, are now fully organized, and the 
 Chairs filled with able professors successfully 
 prosecuting their respective labors. And although 
 imexpected delay has taken place in completing 
 the Medical Faculty, yet the extended system of 
 instruction according to which the Professorships 
 have been arranged, has been maturely weighed, 
 and is now finally adopted ; and I hope that ere 
 long this department of the University wiU be 
 brought into successful action, and in a manner 
 that wiU be of essential service to the cause of 
 medical science. 
 
 Besides other means which have been provided 
 for carrying out the objects of the Institution, the 
 
238 Recollections of 
 
 building for its accommodation is now completed, 
 and is alike ornamental to our city and admii'ably 
 adapted to its purposes. An endowment has also 
 been obtained from the State, which enables the 
 Council to carry forward the business of the 
 University, and yet not to allow its ordinary 
 expenses to exceed its ordinary income ; and I feel 
 assured that in this state of things, the friends of 
 learning will carry out successfully the system of 
 measures now adopted for paying off the floating 
 debt. I have always been persuaded that when 
 the late disastrous times should have passed away, 
 a proper application to the public authorities and 
 to liberal individuals, would obtain the pecuniary 
 aid which is requisite to secure the stability of the 
 Institution. 
 
 It is now more than eight years since I had the 
 honor to receive the appointment to my present 
 ofl&ce ; and in surrendering it into the hands of the 
 Council, after a connection with them during such 
 a length of time, I feel it but just, both to them 
 and to myself, to express my cordial gratitude for 
 their undeviating kindness and support in the 
 discharge of my official duties. Amidst all the 
 labors required of me in the prosecution of our 
 
Persons and Events. 239 
 
 arduous enterprise, I have been sustained with a 
 magnanimity and fidelity vrhich can never be for- 
 gotten. 
 
 With ardent prayers for the blessing of God 
 upon the Council, and upon the Institution itself 
 in all its departments, I have the honor to be, 
 vfith sentiments of sincere and affectionate con- 
 sideration. 
 
 Yours very truly, 
 
 J. M. Mathews, ChaTicelhr. 
 
 I may be pardoned for adding the minute em- 
 bodying the reply of the Council. I value their 
 testimony the more highly as it came from those 
 who had been my counsellors and fellow-laborers 
 from the time when the establishment of the 
 University was first contemplated. My commu- 
 nication was referred to a committee, who reported. 
 
 "That they have embodied the views enter- 
 tained by themselves, and which they deem proper 
 to be expressed by the Council upon this subject, 
 in the form of resolutions which they recommend 
 for the adoption of the Council. 
 
 "Hesoloed, That this Council have learned with 
 
240 Recollections of 
 
 deep regret, that the retirement of the Chancellor 
 from the station he nrow occupies is rendered 
 necessary by the state of his health, and they 
 sincerely hope that the- proposed relaxation of his 
 labors will result in his speedy and complete 
 recovery, and in prolonging his valuable life. 
 
 ^^ Mesolved, That the resignation of the Chan- 
 cellor be, and the same is hereby accepted, and 
 that he be requested to continue in office until a 
 successor shall be appointed and shall enter upon 
 the discharge of the duties assigned him, at which 
 time the said resignation shall take effect. 
 
 " And whereas, on this occasion, it is peculiarly 
 proper and demanded by justice to the Chancellor, 
 that this Council should express their opinion of 
 his character and services as the Head of the 
 University; therefore 
 
 "Resolved, That in him they recognize its 
 projector and principal founder, and the author of 
 the enlarged and liberal system of education upon 
 which it is based; that ever since his connection 
 with it as its first officer, they have been the 
 witnesses of his zeal, devotion and sacrifices to 
 promote its best interests, iu rearing the University 
 edifice, and in other means of advancing the cause 
 
Persons and Events. 241 
 
 of science and learning ; that they have always had 
 entire confidence in his integrity, fidelity, and 
 singleness of purpose; and that, in the judgment 
 of the Council, for these and other services ren- 
 dered to the Institution, he is well entitled to the 
 gratitude of its friends, the public, and posterity. 
 
 " And, as a testimony of the respect entertained 
 for him by the Council as a body, and as indi- 
 viduals, be it further 
 
 " Resolved, That the Chancellor be requested 
 to sit for his portrait to some artist to be desig- 
 nated by himself; that the same be placed in the 
 Library of the University ; and that the expense 
 of taking the said portrait be contributed by 
 members of the Council. 
 
 "This report having been read, was unani- 
 mously adopted." 
 
 The Council having so requested, I remained in 
 office until the following summer, when my successor 
 was inaugurated. 
 
 Such is a brief view of the University of the 
 City of New York, as to its origin, its early his- 
 tory, and the plans designed for it by the men who 
 
 brought it into existence. Our design was to 
 16 
 
242 Recollectioxs of 
 
 create a University — a University, not merely in 
 name, but in reality and truth, in which the widest 
 range of liberal education should be provided and 
 sustained ; a University framed on a scale adapted 
 to the wants, not simply of our city, the metro- 
 polis of the western world though it be; nor 
 simply to the wants of our State, Empire State 
 thouo-h it be ; but to the wants of the whole 
 nation, and drawing to its halls, students from all 
 parts of our country. Nor was it to be a Univer- 
 sity cast after the model of Institutions abroad, 
 which, however venerable for age, are sometimes 
 defaced with the rust of indolence and inaction, 
 and burdened by usages that are antiquated and 
 worse than useless; in which, of course, there is 
 much to unlearn and undo before the way is 
 cleared for what is better and wiser. But it was 
 to be a University adapted to the age of activity 
 in which we live, to the untrammelled thought and 
 lofty purposes of the nation to Avhich we belong, 
 and which, from its outset, should have the advan- 
 tages of a clear track before it as it pursued its way. 
 To the liberal minded men who formed the 
 convention to whom we submitted the scheme of 
 the Institution, it furnished no objection that it 
 
Persons and Events. 243 
 
 bore an aspect somewhat new. The convention 
 included men distinguished for their sage wisdom 
 and their long experience in the world of letters. 
 They believed as we believed, that the time has 
 gone by when self-styled conservatives can affect to 
 smile at progress. Progress is the word of our 
 jvge, as it has been of every age which promised 
 good for the future. The first spread of Chris- 
 tianity was an age of progress. The reformation 
 of religion and learning from the delusions of the 
 dark ages was an age of progress. Nothing in our 
 world is stationary. Every thing created is con- 
 stantly going either backward or forward, is in a 
 state either of improvement or decay. It is so in 
 the products of the earth, and in every power or 
 faculty that belongs to man himself. No wise 
 man, then, will cling to every thing that is old, 
 simply because it is old. An Egyptian mummy is 
 very well in its place, as a mummy ; but we would 
 be far from keeping it in our drawing room, when 
 we could obtain in its stead a statue or a bust from 
 the hands of a Canova or a Greenough. We 
 would rather leave the old thing in its crypt, to be 
 examined by the curious lover of relics who has 
 nothing else to do. 
 
244 Recollections of 
 
 Such mouldering antiquities, however, are not 
 the worst things in our world. So far as we 
 know, they have inflicted no evil on their gener- 
 ations. But there are enormous al)uses which are 
 the growth of time — abuses in States, in Churches, 
 and in Seminaries of learning ; abuses which have 
 become oppressive and injurious wrongs upon the 
 human race ; and it is our privilege to live at a 
 period when many of these grievous enormities, 
 whether civil, religious, or literary, are shaking 
 and tottering toward their fall. Not a few of 
 them, indeed, have fallen already. The nations 
 of the Old World feel the spirit of reform and 
 change becoming stronger and stronger within 
 them; and much that we have seen of thrones 
 overturned, and aristocracies sinking from their 
 once high estate, is but the beginning of the end. 
 Cloisters and the mosques of superstition are no 
 longer able to keep their doors barred against 
 the progressive and inquisitive spirit of our day ; 
 and when we have found our way within, and 
 see the hollow deceit which had held the world 
 so long in spiritual bondage, we come forth 
 animated with new zeal for the spread of an 
 intelligent and life-renewing faith. The shrines 
 
Persons and Events. 245 
 
 of learning, too, are made subject to this same 
 spirit of scrutiny, which goes on weighing eveiy 
 thing before it in the balances of truth and 
 right. Eved Oxford and Cambridge, though sur- 
 rounded with thousands of hallowed memories, 
 having with their untold wealth, too long con- 
 fined their highest prizes to faultless Prosody or 
 speculative Mathematics, now find the hand of 
 the Reformer reaching them, and requiring them 
 to give an account of their stewardship. Indeed, 
 all the oldest seats of learning are gradually ap- 
 proximatimg a state of transition, or have already 
 entered it. Science throughout the civilized 
 world is required to lay aside her stateliness, and 
 to come forward, and even stoop down to see 
 what she can devise and do for the practical 
 benefit of man. The loud and earnest cry of Bacon 
 when he asked, " Is knowledge ever barren ?" 
 begins to be heard far and near, among the high 
 and the low ; and in no land on which the sun 
 shines is the cry so loud, so earnest, and so pro- 
 longed as in our own. The nation has risen up, and 
 conscious of her giant strength, though yet in her 
 youth, she has announced to the nations her lofty 
 purpose to create a new era in history : a new era 
 
246 Recollections of 
 
 in the knowledge and assertion of civil and social 
 rights ; a new era in 'the wider extension of an 
 education that will liberate, elevate, and stimulate 
 the whole mass of mind in a nation, qualifying 
 them both for self government and self-protection ; 
 a new era in the cultivation of science by scientific 
 men, giving them both the will and the means to 
 discover the yet secret powers of every element in 
 nature, and to draw them forth in new applications 
 to the service of man. 
 
 See what she has already done with that subtle 
 and most powerful element, the electric fluid. 
 One of her sons first chained it to a rod to protect 
 our lives and dwellings from its deadly stroke; 
 and another has tamed down the once-dreaded 
 thing, that seemed powerful only for evil, and has 
 made it the obedient messenger to carry our 
 thoughts around the world with the speed of 
 thought itself If I mistake not, electricity has 
 only begun to do its destined work. Our all-wise 
 Creator makes nothing in vain. He never wastes 
 his own workmanship. He sees the end from the 
 beginning. He adapts means to their ends. Nor 
 can I suppose that He would have given such 
 surpassing power to that wonderful agent, if He 
 
Persons and Events. 247 
 
 Lad not designed it to accomplish more wonderful 
 results than we have yet seen. May not the day be 
 coming, perhaps be at hand, when, with an increase 
 of safety, and with an economy of time and cost as 
 yet unknown, it will impel our ships across tlie 
 ocean and our cars on the railroad ; when it will 
 drive the press that prints our books ; when it will 
 effect new wonders in agriculture, as in eveiy thing 
 else, and will produce rich crops from soils now 
 abandoned to barrenness and desolation ? And as 
 it was under American mind that lightning 
 received its first schooling, is it not reasonable to 
 suppose that it will finish its education under 
 masters of the same nation ? 
 
 What is true of the electric fluid, may be also 
 true concerning other powers of nature; lor, not- 
 withstanding all that has been done by science in 
 her deepest investigations, we are yet only on the 
 surface. Fire may yet be extracted from mountains 
 of ice, and the frozen mass thus made to liquefy 
 itself. The very Upas-tree may yet be made to 
 furnish a healing antidote to its own deadly poison. 
 The noxious vapors now ascending from the putrid 
 mass, may yet be turned into a channel that will 
 minister to the health which they are now so 
 
248 Recollections of 
 
 powerful to destroy. But if in such achievements 
 for public good, the elastic, ever active, indomitable 
 genius of our country is either to take or keep the 
 lead, she must have Institutions of learning and 
 science that vrill dare to step beyond the usages of 
 past centuries ; that will quicken the minds of her 
 sons to inv^ent, to explore, to test every thing that 
 the Creator of earth, air, and sea has placed within 
 their reach; Institutions embracing a sphere of 
 instruction that leaves no one branch of Science or 
 of Letters to stand alone, isolated from others that 
 would tend to their mutual improvement if 
 united ; but in which all may be grouped as in a 
 bright constellation, where every new star that is 
 added renders the whole sky the more brilliant 
 and heavenly. 
 
 And if the nation needs such a seat of learning 
 to develop her intellect and to prepare her to run 
 the race set before her, where can she plant it with 
 so much advantage to all she would expect from 
 it, as in the city of New York? For its proper 
 growth and expansion, as I have described it, its 
 teachers and its taught must have ready access to 
 vast libraries, where they can converse with both 
 the dead and the living ; and to rich collections 
 
Persons and Events. 249 
 
 from nature and art, where they can survey both 
 the various productions of the Almighty Creator 
 and the works of human skill and contrivance. 
 It must also be embosomed in a community 
 where man can have free intercourse with man, 
 where man comes into collision with man, where 
 man can co-operate with man, where man is the 
 study of man. It must have the bodily diseases 
 and social wrongs of all climes and nations 
 brought within its observation, that it may give 
 opportunity to study their nature and origin, and 
 how they are to be remedied. It must have a 
 living cosmorama constantly around and before 
 it, exhibitions of men in the widest universality, 
 universality of pursuits, 'universality of tastes, 
 universality of condition and character. So much 
 the better if, within the walk of an hour, we 
 could meet with men from a score of different 
 nations, speaking as many different languages, 
 governed by as many different instincts and 
 objects. All these advantages should enter into 
 the field of a University doing the work of the 
 day and of the land in which we live. 
 
 I need not say how, in these respects, New 
 York outstrips all other cities of the western 
 
250 Recollections or 
 
 world, and is every year leaving them more and 
 more in the distance. Her wealth increases faster 
 than sobriety is inclined to count it; and even 
 when mines of gold are discovered on the shores of 
 the Pacific, the treasure must first be poured into 
 the lap of New York before it circulates through 
 the nation. As a consequence of her facilities for 
 the accumulation of property, she is fast becoming 
 the increased abode of keen-sighted, far-seeing 
 men, who impart more or less of the tone of their 
 own spirit to every class of our inhabitants. 
 With her numerous libraries, with her various 
 museums, with her swarming population, she sees 
 choice minds of the land among her divines, her 
 lawyers, her physicians, her men of Science and 
 Letters — all of them tending, in their various 
 spheres, to caiTy the intelligence of the city upward 
 and onward. Through the great arteries that 
 branch out in all directions from her as the heart 
 of the nation, she has a free communication with 
 every part of our vast country, draAving to herself 
 whatever it can yield, and which tends to build up 
 her own greatness; and with the wide Atlantic, 
 bridged as it is at her veiy doors by our noble 
 steamers, she finds herself in daily intercourse with 
 
Persons and Events. 251 
 
 the best intellects of the Old World ; and as they 
 pour their richest wisdom into this new hemi- 
 sphei-e, she has the first of it, before it passes 
 beyond her, or into the hands of others. 
 
 I cannot well conceive of a place with higher 
 advantages than these for such an Institution as 
 the University of the City of New York was 
 designed to be by its founders; nor should I dismiss 
 the subject on which they bestowed so much time 
 and thought, without a tribute of respect to the 
 memory of some of them now in their graves. 
 
 Mr. Gallatin had been long in public life and 
 was widely known both at home and abroad. He 
 was greatly distinguished for fertility of mind. 
 While acting with his friends Adams and Clay as 
 commissioner at Ghent to form a treaty of peace 
 between England and America, difficulties fre- 
 quently arose in the course of the negotiations 
 which seemed insurmountable. It is said that Mi". 
 Gallatin, after a brief interval, could always 
 suggest some new measure or present some new 
 aspect of the chief question which furnished a new 
 starting point, while Mr. Adams, from his extensive 
 information, would often say more in favor of Mr. 
 Gallatin's plan than Mr, Gallatin could say 
 
252 Recollections of 
 
 himself; and Mr. Clay would follow up tte whole 
 with some melting aj^peal that would make all 
 parties feel half ashamed that there should be so 
 much difficulty in devising terms of pacification 
 between two nations so intimately allied as 
 England and America. The same diversified 
 talent which Mr. Gallatin had discovered on other 
 occasions we found of much service to us in our 
 deliberations respecting the scheme of the Uni- 
 versity. 
 
 General Lewis had served in the army of the 
 Revolution. He had subsequently risen to the 
 Bench as Chief Justice of our State, and afterwards 
 filled its Executive chair as Governor. He 
 presided at our earliest meetings when contempla- 
 ting the establishment of the Institution, and 
 brought his well-matured judgment to our aid. 
 
 General Tallmadge had passed many of his 
 previous years, in the councils both of the State 
 and the nation, and after retiring from his political 
 relations and responsibilities, he spent the closing 
 years of his life in promoting the cause of learning, 
 of agriculture, and other important interests in the 
 State to which he always avowed himself as fondly 
 attached. 
 
Persons and Events. 253 
 
 Among our merchant princes we had such men 
 as John Johnston, Samuel Ward, Henry I. 
 Wyckoff, George Griswold and John Delafield, 
 long and widely known for their large munificence 
 and enlightened views. 
 
 Of my own Profession, we had among others 
 one whose name I can never mention without a 
 feeling both of affection and esteem. Dr. Mc- 
 Murray and myself had been friends from our 
 childhood. He came to the city while yet in 
 the early part of his ministry, and I always 
 considered it a high privilege to have him near me 
 both as a counsellor and a friend. He was 
 eminently distinguished for the soundness of his 
 judgment, and I seldom ventured to do or to 
 undertake any thing if it did not meet with his 
 approbation. 
 
 With him we had Dr. Milnor, a man of large 
 experience in public affairs and of great devotion 
 to public good, whether in church or state. He 
 had been highly respected as a member of the bar 
 in Philadelphia, had served in the Congress of the 
 United States, and when he took his place among 
 us in the City of New York as a minister of the 
 Gospel, he was received with a measure of confi- 
 
254 Recollections of 
 
 deuce and respect wliicli but seldom meets 
 any man when he first appears among us. 
 
 But there is still another name to be mentioned 
 from among the clergy. If I am entitled to the 
 credit which the Council of the University have 
 seen fit to assign me for any agency in devising the 
 large scheme of instruction it was designed to 
 embrace, I am indebted to Bishop (then Dr.) 
 Wainwright for most valuable aid. He was an 
 accomplished scholar. Liberal education had been 
 one of his favorite studies, and he comprehended 
 with great clearness the true bearing of the several 
 branches of knowledge that go to train a well 
 educated student, and to form a complete and well 
 adjusted Institution of Learning. Every friend of 
 the University owes a tribute of gratitude to the 
 memory of Bishop Wainwright. It is with no 
 ordinaiy emotion that I look back to the many 
 days in which we took counsel together in draw- 
 ing out the plan and moulding the features of the 
 Institution. 
 
 Perhaps in this enumeration I ought not to omit 
 the name of Edward Livingston. Though he 
 never belonged to the Council, he was a member 
 of the Convention when the plan of the Uni- 
 
Persons and Events. 255 
 
 versity was submitted for consideration. His 
 fame as a jurist and statesman is well known, and 
 his " Codes " prove how well he was acquainted 
 with both the science and practice of his profession. 
 He felt a special interest in the character which the 
 University would give to its Faculty of Law, and 
 his views were not forgotten or undervalued when 
 the Faculty was formed. Though he was at the 
 time a citizen of New Orleans, he still retained an 
 active sympathy with the city of which he had 
 once been the popular Chief Magistrate ; having 
 borne the responsibilities of the office during 
 one of those seasons of pestilence which tried both 
 his fidelity to his duty and his generosity to the 
 suffering. He was Mayor of New York in 1803, 
 when the yellow fever broke out in a very malig- 
 nant type, attacking all classes. As a consequence 
 of his constant labors among the sick, he caught 
 the disease himself, and for some days bis life was 
 supposed to be in great jeopardy. When his 
 physicians prescribed wine for him, not a drop was 
 to be found in his house. Whatever may have 
 been his store previously, he had given it all to the 
 poor who had not the me^ns of buying it. As 
 soon as the fact was known, our citizens vied with 
 
256 Recollections of 
 
 each other in sending him ample supplies of their 
 very best; and indeed throughout his illness, the 
 young people of the city considered it an honor to 
 be allowed to watch by his bedside. To his latest 
 days he was remembered with great kindness bj^ 
 many of our oldest and most respectable inhabit- 
 ants, and perhaps all the more so because like Pitt, 
 Fox, Webster, Clay, and other distinguished 
 statesmen, he gi'eatly overlooked his own private 
 interests while devoting his time and his strength 
 to the welfare of the public. 
 
 Let me add in conclusion; I have dwelt the 
 more minutely on the cause which led to my 
 retirement from the Chancellorship in order to 
 enforce a caution which I would give to my 
 brethren in the ministry, and indeed to all men 
 who are engaged in public stations. It relates to 
 the hazard of health and life incuiTed by 
 undertaking to fulfil the duties of two laborious 
 and responsible ofBces at the same time. The 
 Chinese have a proverb, "one man, one work;" 
 and although they carry the application of it to 
 a ridiculous' length, it contains a principle of 
 sound wisdom. I had not sufficiently considered 
 
Persons and Events. 257 
 
 it. And here is a circumstance that greatly 
 enhances the danger. In the excitftment which at- 
 tends constant and absorbing employment, the man 
 is utterly unconscious of the wear and tear that 
 are wasting his physical powers, as in the heat of 
 battle men are said not to feel even mortal wounds 
 till they are sinking into the sleep of death ; and 
 I have no doubt that, had it not been for the 
 kind and seasonable advice of friends, I should 
 before this day have been in my grave. 
 
 At my advanced age, and standing as I do not 
 far from the close both of my life and labors, let 
 me warn my clerical brethren on this subject. The 
 pastor of a church, especially in a city, has enough 
 on his hands ; and though his people in their kind- 
 ness, if he undertakes other official duties, may 
 furnish him with an assistant or a colleague, there 
 are labors and cares, from which he cannot be 
 exonerated. If he feels himself called in the 
 Providence of God, to fill some other office involving 
 new duties, let him release himself from the 
 responsibilities of a pastor. It may cost him 
 many struggles to do it. He may be obliged to 
 sever some of the tenderest ties that bind the heart 
 
 of man to man ; but let him do it, or his life may 
 17 
 
258 Recollections of 
 
 be the forfeit before he becomes aware of his 
 danger. Should he persist in bearing the responsi- 
 bilities of the two positions, self-preservation may 
 at length constrain him to relinquish both. 
 
Persons and Events. 259 
 
 CHAPTER Xm. 
 
 Changes in New York. — Population. — Public Places. — Pub- 
 lic Buildings. — Public Men. — Churches. — Removal of 
 Churches from the First Six Wards. — ^Inadequate Supply 
 OF Churches foe the whole City. — Influence of Religion 
 IN Cities upon the Country. — Special Duties and Responsi- 
 bilities of Christians in such a City as New York. 
 
 The changes which have taken place in New 
 York during the last fifty or sixty years have been 
 so rapid and wide-spread as almost to exceed the 
 belief of those who have not been eye-witnesses of 
 the events as they occurred. The population in 
 1810, was 96,373. In 1860, it was 805,651 ; and at 
 this date (1864) it is estimated at above 1,100,000. 
 Indeed, applying the rule by which the popu- 
 lation of London is generally estimated; in- 
 cluding places like Brooklyn and others in the 
 vicinity of New York, the population of the city 
 cannot be far short of 1,500,000. This extraordi- 
 nary growth wiU be the more apparent by a 
 comparison of the population with that of other 
 cities, as may be seen in the following table : 
 
260 Recollections of 
 
 1810. I860. 
 
 Boston 32,250 177,812 
 
 New York !.. 96,373 805,651 
 
 Philadelphia 96,664 562,529 
 
 Baltimore 46,556 212,418 
 
 Charleston 24,711 40,578 
 
 The area of what was properly the compact 
 part of the city in 1810, was contained chiefly in 
 the first six wards ; it may now be said to spread 
 over about one-half of the island. Much of the 
 ground which was then occupied by country-seats 
 or Ijang as a waste, is converted into the streets 
 and squares that now form the most brilliant and 
 populous portions of our city. The Central Park 
 was then a barren wild, overgrown with scraggy 
 bushes and deformed with misshapen rocks and 
 stones. Madison Square once foi-med the site and 
 ground, alloted to the House of Refuge for 
 Juvenile Delinquents. Washington Square was 
 Potter's Field, for the burial of paupers and un- 
 claimed strangers ; while the public places in the 
 lower part of the city formerly most celebrated 
 for their beauty and the crowds resorting to them, 
 have now lost all their attractiveness. The 
 grounds lying in front of the City-Hall went 
 especially by the name of " The Park," were kept 
 in fine order, and were covered with a verdure 
 
Persons and Events. 261 
 
 and foliage that farnished a pleasant relief to the 
 eye during the summer, in the midst of the sur- 
 rounding streets and buildings. But the Battery 
 was the pride of the city as a Promenade. It 
 covered, as it still does, the southern extremity of 
 the island, looking directly out on our beautiful 
 Bay, catching through the Narrows a glimpse of 
 the sea, the view skirted on either side by the 
 shores of Long Island on the left and New Jersey 
 on the right, and terminated in the distance by the 
 bold rising ground of Staten Island. As if to 
 correspond with these natural advantages, the place 
 itself was laid out with great taste and kept with 
 great care, beautiful walks intersecting it in all 
 directions, the green sward interspersed with 
 flowers and covered with trees, some of them 
 highly ornamental and others venerable with age. 
 New York may have other splendid squares and 
 parks, but she can have but the one Battery, 
 The site of the island forbids it. But the Battery is 
 now gone never to be restored. No one can look 
 upon the deformed neglected grounds, covered in 
 many places with squalid poverty or strange look- 
 ing emigrants, without a regret for the splendor 
 and beauty which are now no more. 
 
262 Recollections of 
 
 The neighboring streets have been subjected 
 to the same adverse changes. State street, fronting 
 the Battery, and the lower part of Broadway and 
 of Greenwich street, were occupied by families 
 standing among our first inhabitants for intelli- 
 gence and refinement ; and now their elegant 
 residences are demolished, and are succeeded by 
 stores or tenement houses. When I pass through 
 that once beautiful part of the city, I can scarce 
 retrace the landmarks where friends and parish- 
 ioners formerly lived, and I feel like a stranger 
 where I once met a friend or an intimate acquaint- 
 ance within almost every door. 
 
 The public buildings once seen in that region, — 
 where are they now ? The Government House 
 stood on the street now called Bowling Green, 
 looking up Broadway. The building itself was 
 in good taste and had an imposing appearance. 
 It was erected by the State, and was for some 
 years the Executive Mansion of George Clinton 
 and John Jay when filling the office of Governor. 
 It afterwards became the Custom-House, and 
 about the year 1815, the ground was sold to 
 gentlemen who covered it with some of the most 
 desirable residences in the city. The houses are 
 
Persons and Events. 263 
 
 still there, but are now occupied as offices and 
 counting rooms. 
 
 But with no public edifice were such hallowed 
 memories of public affairs connected as with the 
 old Federal (or City) Hall. It stood at the corner 
 of Wall and Nassau, looking down Broad street. 
 It had been used for the sittings of Congress before 
 their removal to Philadelphia, and had once echoed 
 with the eloquence of such men as Madison, Ames, 
 and others, when they were giving shape and 
 solidity to the grand features of our civil freedom. 
 
 But it had also been the scene of a transaction 
 which rendered the place still more memorable. 
 Its front was ornamented by a rich and spacious 
 balcony, and there General "Washington had stood 
 when he first took his oath of office as President 
 of the United States. I often surveyed it and 
 walked throiigh it from end to end when I first 
 came to the city sixty years ago ; and never retired 
 from the place without fond recollections of the 
 scene that had there been enacted. I could picture 
 to myself the illustrious man, with his lofty stature 
 and grave demeanor, then to be inaugurated as the 
 Head of the Nation, stepping forth to meet the 
 view of the people as they crowded to the 
 
264 Eecoluections of 
 
 adjacent streets, meeting their demonstrations of 
 homage with a tearful eye, laying his hand upon 
 his heart, and bowing to them again and again, 
 then turning to the Chancellor of the State, who 
 stood waiting to administer to him the Oath of 
 Office, and when he heard the solemn adjui-ation 
 addressed to him, replying to it with deep 
 solemnity, "I swear, so help me God;" I would 
 recall the loud shouts of admiration which arose 
 from the crowd as a response when the Chan- 
 cellor stepped forward and proclaimed, "Long 
 live George Washington, the President of the 
 United States ;" and while the air was resounding 
 with the voice of the people, cannon were fired on 
 the Battery, and the bells were ringing all through 
 the city. The history of our nation, prolonged as 
 it may be, can scarcely include a scene so solemn 
 and imposing as that; and the place where it 
 transpired should have been allowed to stand as 
 a memorial to all future generations. 
 
 As a people, we have too little veneration for 
 antiquity. Places, as well as times, have their 
 sacredness. They have a moral influence which 
 gives tone and strength to patriotic feeling when 
 tliey are connected with great national events ; and 
 
Persons and Events. 265 
 
 as a salutary restraint on our restless desire for 
 change, they should be carefully and reverently 
 preserved. We can have no such inauguration 
 again, as that Avhich made George Washington first 
 President of the United States of America ; and yet 
 the venerable old Hall where it took place has 
 been demolished, and not a trace of it left. 
 
 With these memorials of events bordering on 
 Revolutionary times, have disappeared a class of 
 men, in whom the spirit of Revolutionary heroism 
 seemed to survive long after the Revolution itself 
 was consummated. Sixty years ago General Hamil- 
 ton had just gone to his grave, but we had still 
 with us General Matthew Clarkson, Colonel Richard 
 Varick, Judge Egbert Benson, and a few others, 
 their cotemporaries, all distinguished for the staid, 
 dignified, and determined mien which reminded you 
 of the scenes through which they had passed, and 
 the work they had contributed to accomplish. 
 Indeed, the men who had lived in that eventful 
 day, in one sense formed a class by themselves. 
 The spirit of their great chief seemed to have 
 descended on those who survived him, creating a 
 family likeness among them all, as if to mark their 
 alliance, not only with each other, but with him 
 
266 Recollections op 
 
 whom they loved to contemplate as their common 
 father and the Father of his Country. I do not 
 now see among us men of exactly their type, 
 though, no doubt, they would appear if a public 
 exigency like that of the Revolution was again to 
 call for them. 
 
 Let us now loot at some of our churches. As 
 the Dutch were the earliest settlers in the city, 
 they of course had the first places of Christian wor- 
 ship on the island. Not to go farther back, fifty 
 years ago the South Dutch Church stood in what 
 was formerly called Garden street, now Exchange 
 Place. The ground had been long occupied by a 
 building said to be much after the model of 
 churches in Holland. It was the last church in 
 which the Dutch language was used in public wor- 
 ship, and I am told that out of deference to the 
 aged members, "the mother tongue" was not laid 
 aside until there were not ten hearers left to listen 
 to it. The old building stood unoccupied for 
 several years, and at length gave place to one of 
 more modern aspect and of greater convenience. 
 This was burnt down in the great conflagration of 
 1835. The neighborhood becoming filled with 
 stores and offices to the exclusion of residences, it 
 
Persons and Events. 267 
 
 seemed idle to build on the same site; and the 
 congregation, reluctantly bowing to circumstances, 
 abandoned the ground and formed themselves into 
 two churches; the one building first in Murray 
 street, and then in Fifth Avenue, and the other 
 building on Washington Square. The Middle 
 Church, as it was called, in Nassau street, is now 
 the Post-Office, the walls still standing, but appro- 
 priated to purposes which have drawn many a sigh 
 from those who have frequented the place as a 
 holy sanctuary. Other Dutch Churches also have 
 disappeared as places of worship from the lower 
 part of the city. The German Reformed, formerly 
 in Nassau street, is gone ; and the Church once in 
 Franklin street, is now in West Twenty-third. 
 
 Of the Episcopal Denomination, Trinity Church 
 stands where it always stood, in Broadway, at the 
 head of Wall street ; Trinity of former days having 
 given place to a new edifice of greater size and 
 more grandeur, but in the opinion of some who 
 love old times and old scenes, not equalling its 
 predecessor in chasteness and symmetry of Archi- 
 tecture. Grace Church has left the corner of 
 Broadway and Rector street, and has gone to the 
 corner of Broadway and Tenth street. Christ 
 
268 Recollections of 
 
 Church has left Ann street, and after a temporary 
 stay in Anthony, now Worth street, is on the cor- 
 ner of Fifth Avenue and Thirty-fifth street. The 
 French Church has left Pine street, and after remain- 
 ing some years in Franklin street, is now in West 
 Twenty-second street. The former sites of the 
 whole three being surrendered to secular uses. 
 
 Of the Presbyterian Denomination, the Wall 
 Street Church, where it is said the standard of 
 Presbyterianism was first erected in our city, has 
 removed to Fifth Avenue. The two Presbyteriaa 
 Churches in Cedar street, have removed, one of 
 them, first to Grand street, and then to West 
 Fourteenth; the other, first to Duane street, and 
 then to Fifth Avenue. The Murray Street Church 
 went to Clinton Place. The Brick Church has 
 removed from Beekman street, to MuiTay Hill. 
 The Reformed Presbyterian Church left Chambers 
 street, and after being for a time in Prince, is now 
 in Twelfth street. The Associate Presbyterian 
 Church went from Nassau, and is now in Grand 
 street. The former sites of all these Presbyterian 
 Churches are now occupied as places of business. 
 
 The Baptist Church formerly in Gold street, is 
 now in Grand street. The Methodist Church in 
 
Persons and Events. 269 
 
 Duane street, has left its former location. The 
 same may be said of the Lutheran Church formerly 
 in Frankfort street ; of the Moravian Church once in 
 Fulton street; and of the Tabernacle first in 
 Chatham street, then in Broadway near Leonard 
 street. Even the Quakers or Fiiends, notwith- 
 standing their well deserved reputation for steady 
 habits and aversion to change, have fallen in with 
 the current, and have left Liberty and Rose streets, 
 having gone up town. The sites formerly occupied 
 by these last mentioned places of worship, being, 
 as usual, surrendered to secular purposes. Other 
 instances might also be given of similar removals. 
 
 This migration of churches has become a very 
 serious matter. Its bearings on the welfare of reli- 
 gion in our city, should be carefully pondered ; and 
 I am glad to see it discussed in various quarters, 
 vnth a view of suggesting or enforcing the duties 
 of Christians among us with regard to it. 
 
 A writer in one of our weeklies has recently 
 stated that " New York city is a missionary field. 
 It contains a resident population of about nine 
 hundred thousand, and a transient one of fifty thou- 
 sand, comprising over thirty nationalities. There 
 are but two hundred and twenty-five evangelical 
 
270 Recollections of 
 
 churches, accommodating about two hundred thou- 
 sand persons. The six lower wards contain a pop- 
 ulation of about one hundred and eighty thousand ; 
 in the whole of these wards there are but fifteen 
 evangelical churches, which will accommodate but 
 about ten thousand people." 
 
 Parts of this picture are too darkly colored. 
 When the writer makes the population of the first 
 six wards to be one hundred and eighty thousand, 
 he is under a mistake. The census of 1860 makes 
 it ninety-five thousand four hundred and seventeen, 
 and judging from the state of things in the lower 
 part of the city during the last ten years, dwellings 
 constantly giving place to stores, it is somewhat 
 doubtful whether the number of inhabitants in 
 these wards has not diminished instead of increased 
 since the last census. 
 
 Within this section of the city, the writer says 
 there are fifteen evangelical churches. This view 
 of the case is too favorable. We cannot find fifteen 
 evangelical churches within the limits of the first 
 six wards, even counting the mission churches, now 
 occupying halls as temporary places of worship. 
 
 A different writer has furnished a well written 
 article in another of our weeklies, in which he says 
 
Persons and Events. 271 
 
 that " religious congestion" is a prevalent disease in 
 our churches, by which he means the habit of cen- 
 tralizing or clustering their places of worship 
 together, so as to render them less available than 
 they might be for the whole population. This evil 
 has long existed in New York, and it is to be 
 lamented that the same habit of congregating our 
 churches still prevails, though perhaps in a less 
 degree. We have money, in hundreds of thou- 
 sands, expended on churches in comparatively the 
 same neighborhood, whUe other parts of the city 
 are left, in a great degree, destitute. 
 
 But this " religious congestion" is not so great an 
 evil as the disposition we have just described, to 
 remove our places of worship up town, abandoning 
 the lower parts of the city, and carrying with them 
 the whole church property, though not the entire 
 congregation. The first six wards contain, as we 
 have seen, a population of ninety-five thousand four 
 hundred and seventeen, an increase of twenty-two 
 thousand three hundred and sixty-five, since the 
 census of 1830, when it was stated at seventy-three 
 thousand and fifty-two. And yet within the last 
 thirty years, thirty-two churches or congregations 
 have been removed from that section of the city, 
 
272 Recollections of 
 
 leaving fifteen, of which four are Eoman Catholic, 
 and one a Jewish synagogue. Thus, in a popula- 
 tion of nearly, if not quite one hundred thousand, 
 we have religious accommodation for not more than 
 eight thousand or nine thousand Protestant wor- 
 shippers, or about one in ten of the whole inhabit- 
 ants. And yet, gi-eat as the evil is already, it 
 seems that some of the remaining churches are con- 
 templating a removal farther up town, and others 
 contiguous to the northern boundaries of the Fifth 
 and Sixth Wards are inclined to do likewise. 
 
 No reason can be assigned which will justify 
 this abandonment of the lower parts of the city. 
 True, I can conceive of circumstances which will 
 fully Avarrant the removal of a church from its 
 former location. When the inhabitants of a neigh- 
 borhood are gone, and the dwelling-houses are de- 
 stroyed, and replaced by warehouses, stores and 
 offices, a church situated within such limits should 
 be removed. To employ a minister of God's word 
 to dispense ordinances in such a locality, is a useless 
 waste of time and means. People are not there to 
 become his hearers. A church should be placed 
 where worshippers, especially the feeble and infirm, 
 can have convenient access to it. But under no 
 
Pebsons and Events. 273 
 
 circumstances, should a place of worship be demol- 
 ished till the measure has been carefully and delib- 
 erately weighed before it is adopted. There are 
 sacred associations clustering around a place long 
 occupied for the worship of God, that should not 
 be rashly invaded or dispelled. They have a salu- 
 tary influence on the moral sensibilities of the peo- 
 ple, much needed in a bustling, busy city like ours. 
 There can be no doubt, however, on the question, 
 while a church stands surrounded by dwellings, either 
 of rich or poor, in such numbers as to require it for 
 their religious accommodation. Under such cir- 
 cumstances, it should not be taken away. If the 
 inhabitants are poor, they may have the more need 
 of such accommodation ready furnished to them. 
 "To the poor the Gospel is preached," our Lord 
 has told us, is one of the signs of His coming. 
 And this is exactly one of the points in which the 
 city is so much behind its duty. If rich men move 
 away from the neighborhood, or " move up town," 
 as the phrase is, and if they would have a church 
 at a convenient distance, let them put their hands 
 to the work, and out of their abundance, build 
 a church for themselves. But let them not leave 
 
 their poorer brethren, who must continue to reside as 
 18 
 
274 Recollections of 
 
 formerly, without either a church or a pastor. And 
 even should a combination of circumstances arise, 
 which may render a sale of the church building and 
 its grounds unavoidable or expedient, the same 
 principle of duty requires that the proceeds, or at 
 least an adequate part of them, should always be 
 appropriated so as to provide in a suitable way 
 for the worshippers remaining in the neighborhood, 
 in preference to employing them entirely for the 
 comfort and advantage of those who have gone to 
 a more fashionable part of the city, and who may 
 wish to have a church in a style of architecture suit- 
 ed to their taste and circumstances. 
 
 Now then, what should be done, without delay, 
 to remedy the existing evil, and to prevent it from 
 spreading still farther? Obviously, the Christian 
 public should endeavor to regain the ground we 
 have lost, and having gained it, to keep it. To 
 speak more in detail : the stronger churches of our 
 city should establish and sustain throughout the 
 lower wards, organized churches with competent 
 pastors in every neighborhood now destitute, where 
 there is a sufficient number of inhabitants to form 
 a congregation, and who could be persuaded to 
 unite for that purpose. Especially should churches 
 
Persons and Events. 275 
 
 once situated in these wards, feel this to be their 
 duty. But the obligation does not rest on them 
 alone. It is a duty common to us all who can take 
 part in the service. We are aware that not a little 
 has been done in various parts of the city to es- 
 tablish mission schools, which in some cases have 
 been nurtured into mission churches. But what- 
 ever may have been done elsewhere, little compara- 
 tively has been done for the multitudes which are 
 found below Canal street. It cannot be denied 
 that those regions have a special claim upon our 
 sympathies and efforts. Our strong churches once 
 among them are now gone, and we should be the 
 more ready to do something to make up for the 
 loss. We give our best God-speed to the missions 
 now sustained among them. But they are so few 
 in number that Ave may exclaim, " What are they 
 among so many?" Nor can these efforts, while 
 they are simply missionary stations, answer for the 
 purpose. The missionary stations now worship- 
 ping in halls or lofts, should become missionary 
 churches with a regular church organization, and 
 suitable places of worship to give them strength 
 and permanency, and means should be taken to 
 provide for them able and faithful men for their 
 
276 Recollections of 
 
 pastors, sustained by influential laymen who will be 
 willing to sacrifice something of their own conven- 
 ience for the sake of the work. It is a great mis- 
 take to suppose that men of inferior attainments 
 are adequate to fulfil pastoral duty in such places. 
 The duties and responsibilities require tact, talent, 
 and piety in no ordinary degree, if the man would 
 be successful. We have no doubt that such men 
 could be found. When our Lord taught that " to 
 the poor the Gospel was to be preached," He set the 
 example of preaching to them Himself, and the best, 
 most accomplished, and most highly honored of 
 His sers'-ants should count it " enough to be as his 
 Master." 
 
 And now to give this subject an additional 
 survey, let us look beyond the lower wards, and 
 see what are the strength and position of the 
 churches in the whole city. Judging from the 
 rate of increase during the ten or twenty years 
 previous to 1865, and from other data altogether 
 reliable, the whole resident population of our 
 city must be at this day about one million and fifty 
 thousand; and this, with some fifty thousand or 
 more of transient population, makes one million one 
 hundred thousaml of inhabitants for whom places 
 
Persons and Events. 277 
 
 of worship should be adequately provided. Have 
 we any thing like it ? 
 
 The whole number of our churches or congre- 
 gations, as reported by those who have inquired 
 carefully into the subject, is three hundred. This 
 including not only all denominations, Protestant 
 or Catholic, Christian or Jewish, but even such 
 mission churches as have reached any thing like 
 stability. Including all such places of worship, 
 the average capacity is not more than eight hun- 
 dred, even on a liberal allowance. This beina: the 
 case, we have church accommodations for two 
 hundred and forty thousand, out of a population 
 of one million one hundred thousand, leaving 
 eight hundred and sixty thousand for whom no 
 accommodation is provided. It is not to be sup- 
 posed, however, that the entire population can be 
 in church at any one time. Taking account of 
 those who are in infancy, or are sick, and those 
 who are needed to attend upon them or to 
 discharge household duties that are indispensable, 
 there may be perhaps one-third of the whole num- 
 ber of inhabitants that must be absent from church 
 at a given time. But still, even supposing our 
 present places of worship completely filled, we 
 
278 Recollections of 
 
 have more than four hundred and ninety-three 
 thousand, whose duty it is to attend church, but 
 who could find no room. 
 
 There is still another inquiry of much impor- 
 tance. Are the churches losing or gaining on the 
 multitudes for whom there is no religious pro- 
 vision in our sanctuaries? Does the number of 
 our churches hold the same proportion to the 
 number of our inhabitants that it did, say fifty 
 years ago? In 1810, the population was ninety 
 six thousand three hundred and seventy-three, 
 or with the usual proportion of transient popu- 
 lation, viz., four thousand, the whole num- 
 ber would be one hundred thousand three hun- 
 (b-ed and seventy-three. At the same time we 
 Lad fifty-one churches, and allowing, as before, 
 eight hundred persons as the average capacity of 
 each place of worship, we had accommodation 
 for forty thousand eight hundred worshippers. 
 Deducting one-third of the whole population as 
 unable to attend church at a given time, viz., 
 thirty-three thousand four hundred and eighty- 
 four, there remains less than twenty-seven thou- 
 sand for whom there was no accommoiiation. In 
 other words, there was in 1810, little more than 
 
Persons and Events. 279 
 
 one-fourtli of the population for whom there was 
 no church accommodation; and in 1864, there is 
 more than one third — ^perhaps, I should say, 
 nearly one-half This is an alarming increase in 
 religious destitution within the lapse of fifty or 
 fifty-four years, and if allowed to go on un- 
 checked, we may soon lose our good name as a 
 Christian city. No wonder that crime should be 
 so on the increase as to startle our magistrates at 
 the developments constantly spread before them. 
 Especially in a community like ours, there is no 
 power effectually to restrain or subdue crime but 
 the power of the Gospel. Our Government is a 
 great experiment to show how far the Bible can 
 be made to take the place of the bayonet. 
 
 Let it not be said that the churches we have 
 now are not filled. If the churches we have now 
 were diminished by one-half, they would soon be 
 less filled than ever; and if they were doubled 
 in number, they would soon be better filled than 
 they are now. This is the lesson taught by 
 universal experience in such matters, and in scores 
 of places around us. "What we want in the 
 community is a church-going spirit, and the best 
 way to produce it is to multiply places of wor- 
 
280 Recollections of 
 
 ship up to the wants of the people. The spirit 
 that does this, will also' do what is needful to fill 
 them ; in the language of our Lord, will be ready 
 to "go out into the highways and hedges, and 
 compel them to come in, that His house may be 
 filled." 
 
 We ought not to conclude these statements till 
 we have submitted to the consideration of 
 Protestants a comparison of the relative growth 
 of different denominations since 1810. This will 
 be seen in the following tabular statement embra- 
 cing the more prominent denominations now in our 
 city: 
 
 DenominatioDS. Tew 1810. Tear 1864. 
 
 Baptist 6 33 
 
 Episcopal 13 58 
 
 Jews 1 24 
 
 Methodist 7 41 
 
 Presbyterian 9 55 
 
 Reformed Dutch 8 22 
 
 Roman Catholic 2 31* 
 
 * The statement in this article respecting the whole number of 
 churches in our city, and the number of those belonging to different 
 denominations, is taken partly from the City Directory, and partly 
 from the returns made by the denominations themselves. If there 
 are any inaccuracies, they must be so trifling as not to affect the 
 merits or demerits of the case. The number may be less, not more 
 than I have stated, for I hare included in the count, several churches, 
 so called, now or lately worshipping in halls or loft;. : and experience 
 shows that in such instances, what was reported as a church one 
 year, is sometimes extinct the yeat following. 
 
Pebsons and Events. 281 
 
 True, this extraordinary increase of Catholics 
 and Jews, is no doubt to be attributed in a great 
 degree to the unusual influx of foreigners during 
 the last fifteen or twenty years. But this does not 
 render the duties of Protestants less urgent and 
 imperative. Our duty is the same to maintain the 
 ascendency of Protestant faith and worship among 
 those around us, whether they come from abroad 
 or are natives of our own country. 
 
 There are few Christians among us who can 
 look over the statements which are here presented, 
 without a feeling of anxiety for the future. I well 
 remember how earnestly the late Dr. Alexander 
 expressed his lamentations on the subject. He 
 saw the tendency of our leading Christian men to 
 gather in a few favorite places of worship, there 
 concentrating their means and influence; and he 
 felt it to be his duty, as he said, to urge upon such 
 men of his own charge the obligation resting on 
 them to employ their means of doing good by 
 identifying themselves with new enterprises for 
 establishing churches where they are needed. It is 
 a lesson which should often be urged by ministers 
 of the Gospel. Christian men do not seem to 
 realize their duty in this respect. They hide 
 
282 Recollections of 
 
 their talents in a napkin ; their power to do good 
 is not faithfully employed. They attend a church 
 where they enjoy an able ministry, pleasant sur- 
 roundings in a congregation and edifice to their 
 taste, where their families as well as themselves 
 are pleased; and they are then apt to conclude 
 that this is the whole duty of man in regard to 
 the Church of Christ, so far as they and theirs are 
 concerned. 
 
 We want a different spirit awakened in men 
 of this class. We want to see them feel their 
 duty respecting parts of our city where people are 
 perishing for want of knowledge. In a word, we 
 want a fresh unction from the Holy Spirit upon 
 evangelical Christians in New York, to make them 
 feel the importance of chubch extension as a 
 great duty of our day. 
 
 I say evangelical Christians in New York, not 
 only because New York is behind many of her sister 
 cities in the number of her churches compared with 
 the population, but also because of the influence 
 which chief cities always exercise on the religious 
 condition of a countr3^ This has become a great 
 question in Christian ethics, and it cannot be too 
 carefully considered by our citizens if they would 
 
Persons and Events. 283 
 
 realize their responsibilities not only to God, but 
 to the inhabitants of our highly favored land. 
 
 No one can deny that the intercourse and occu- 
 pations of a city have a tendency ©f their own, to 
 develop the intellectual and moral powers of man. 
 " As iron sharpeneth iron, so doth the countenance 
 of a man his friend." But if iron sharpeneth iron, it 
 must be done by coming into close contact or fre- 
 quent collision ; and it is. this very thing, produced 
 by the daily occurrences of city life, which sharpens 
 and polishes the minds and manners of men. It is 
 this which imparts quickness, sagacity, and increased 
 activity to their faculties; and as knowledge is 
 power, and stronger minds wiU have sway not only 
 over the weak but over those having less strength 
 than themselves, it follows that cities will always 
 take the lead in human affairs. If the race is for 
 wealth, the city takes it. If the object be to create 
 a constellation of intellectual luminaries, they are 
 found clustered in our cities. If the aim is to reach 
 distinction in a political or civil career, the most 
 successful candidate is usually the man who starts 
 with the advantages of city associations. It results 
 indeed alike from the laws qf our nature and from 
 the structure of society, that cities will always send 
 
284 Recollections of 
 
 fortli an influence for good or for evil through 
 the countries around them, while they are com- 
 paratively unmoved by the views and habits pre- 
 vailing in the country. It was once said by a 
 great man, who herein made a great mistake, that 
 " large cities are great sores on the body politic." 
 There is nothing in their nature or relative posi- 
 tion which should render them such evils to 
 a people. They should rather be viewed as the 
 great heart of the body politic, their pulsations 
 being felt through every part and member of the 
 public frame. 
 
 This is exemplified from the earliest history of 
 the world. The " cities of the plain" were corrupt, 
 and the entire plain became corrupted with them 
 tUl both sunk into a common ruin. Nineveh 
 and Babylon furnish lessons of the same import. 
 Athens imparted refinement and patriotism to 
 Greece. Rome cherished a spirit of bravery and 
 love of arras that spread through Italy and render- 
 ed her finally mistress of the world. And when 
 she became effeminate through luxury and profli- 
 gacy, the whole empire fell asunder as a dissolving 
 mass of corruption. 
 
 The same lesson is taught by examples from 
 
Peksons and Events. 285 
 
 sacred history. Jerusalem is expressly charged by 
 our Lord with having done evil that ultimately 
 brought ruin on the whole nation ; and on the 
 other hand, while Jerusalem remained faithful to 
 her duty, observing her divine ordinances and obey- 
 ing the voice of the prophets, the effect was visible 
 to the very extremities of the land. And here we 
 see one great reason why the Most High centered 
 so many privileges in that leading metropolis. 
 The Ark of the Covenant had as full a meaning 
 while it sojourned at Kiijath-jearim as after it had 
 been placed in the city of David. The temple of 
 the Lord would have been as much the temple of 
 the Lord if it had been built on the borders of the 
 wilderness as when it stood within the walls of 
 Jerusalem. Indeed, in some respects, would not 
 equity have required that these tokens of God's 
 presence and means of access to Him should have 
 been distributed through the nation for the more 
 equal accommodation of all ? But such Avas not the 
 divine appointment. Jerusalem, long known even 
 in the days of the Canaanites as the leading city of 
 the land, is " the place where the Lord chose to 
 make his name known." There was the temple; 
 there the ark containing the tables of testimony ; 
 
286 Recollections of 
 
 there were the daily sacrifices ; there the great fes- 
 tivals at which all Israel must appear before the 
 Lord. And why ? why this concentration of 
 privileges in the one city. It was because Jeru- 
 salem as a city was a great radiating point, giving 
 forth a moral infl.uence to be felt far and wide, and 
 so long as she retained her allegiance to Jehovah, 
 the nation could not well sink into idolatry. 
 Hence did God so fortify that metropolis as a cita- 
 del of truth and worship ; and although in the 
 present state of the world cities may in some re- 
 spects not sway whole lands as in ancient times, 
 yet still, what Jerusalem was to the people of 
 Israel, every metropolis must be and will be in a 
 great degree to the vast majority of the entire 
 nation. In our day, let Paris set a fashion and all 
 France follows it. The great man in London is a 
 great man through all England. 
 
 A very careful regard was had to this principle 
 of social and moral influence, in the labors of our 
 Lord and His apostles. It is recognized in the 
 very first directions given to the twelve when they 
 received their commission. " And it came to pass," 
 we are told, " that when Jesus had made an end of 
 commanding His twelve disciples, He departed 
 
Persons and Events. 287 
 
 thence to teach and to preach in their cities ;" and 
 afterwards when He "appointed other seventy 
 also, He sent them two and two before His face 
 into every city and place whither He Himself 
 would come." Accordingly, while you find Him at 
 times preaching the gospel and performing wonder- 
 ful works on the side of the mountain, on the shore 
 and bosom of the sea, it was in cities like Caper- 
 naum and Bethsaida, but especially in the city of 
 Jerusalem that He was most frequently found ma- 
 king Himself known as the promised Messiah. And 
 when He had suffered and was received up into 
 glory, and instructed His disciples that " repen- 
 tance and remission of sins should be preached in 
 His name among all nations," how carefully does 
 He add, "beginning at Jerusalem." That com- 
 mand they faithfully obeyed ; and after they had 
 filled Jerusalem with their doctrine, we next find 
 them in the city of Samaria, the aspiring rival of 
 Jerusalem as a Capital in the Holy Land. Then 
 as we follow them they are in Damascus, a city 
 celebrated for its wealth and power from the days 
 of Abraha:u. Then Cesarea with its gorgeous 
 palaces and temples, receives the gospel from Peter 
 and others of the apostles ; and in that city the first 
 
288 Recollections of 
 
 fruits of the Gentile world are converted to the 
 faith. Afterwards they are in Antioch, long 
 known as the most powerful city in the east, and 
 there the disciples are first called Christians, the 
 name by which they have been known ever since, 
 and will be known to the end of the world. Next 
 we trace them to Philippi, expressly described in 
 Scripture as the " chief city in that part of Mace- 
 donia, and a colony." Athens, still renowned for 
 her schools and her philosophers ; Ephesus, with a 
 fame world-wide for her temple of Diana ; Corinth, 
 noted for her riches, her elegance and her luxuries ; 
 all in their turn are fields of apostolic labor ; and 
 at length we find them in Rome herself, penetrating 
 into the very household of Caesar, and in that Im- 
 perial city " the Acts of the Apostles" leaves Paul 
 laboring year after year till his life was surrender- 
 ed in martyrdom. Nor should it be forgotten that 
 to the Romans, the Corinthians, the Ephesians, the 
 Philippians, Thessalonians and Colossians, many of 
 the inspired Epistles were immediately addressed, 
 thus leaving a conspicuous and imperishable rec- 
 ord of the responsibility resting on the inhabit- 
 ants of cities as guardians of Gospel truth. 
 
 In this manner was Christianity spread in apos- 
 
Persons and Events. 289 
 
 tolic times, and by apostolic men speaking and 
 acting " as they were moved by the Holy Ghost." 
 They did not neglect "the regions round about," 
 but their first aim was to occupy and Christianize 
 the great cities of every land to which they came, 
 as the most effectual way of reaching and influ- 
 encing the nation at large. 
 
 And now farther on this point. I have said that 
 in the present state of mankind, cities may not in 
 some respects sway whole nations as in ancient 
 days. But there are other respects, in which their 
 influence has become greatly increased in modern 
 times. In all highly civilized countries, commerce 
 has become, in our day, what is ofen called a 
 Third Estate, a new embodiment or centre of 
 power; and as commerce creates our cities, the 
 increased importance of the one must enhance the 
 influence of the other. And then, as a means of 
 rendering this influence the more extensive, we 
 must remember, that owing to the present facility 
 of intercourse between places once viewed as 
 widely separated, the remotest corners of a country 
 are brought into daily if not hourly communication 
 with the city, imbibing from it its views, sympathies 
 
 and impulses, as much so indeed as though these 
 19 
 
290 Recollections of 
 
 once distant regions had become suburbs of the 
 town. And all this again has no doubt contrib- 
 uted, to what wise observers and careful statists 
 have shown to be one great distinction of the 
 present age ; I mean the tendency to concentration 
 in cities. England never saw so large a number of 
 her people gathered into London as she sees now. 
 The same may be said of France with regard to 
 Paris, the same of Germany also, with regard to 
 her chief capitals. And notwithstanding the fruit- 
 ful fields which invite strong hands and willing 
 hearts into the rural districts in our own favored 
 land, our cities are filling up with a rapidity that 
 far outstrips the country. 
 
 "The thing is of the Lord;" and is to be 
 viewed as among the significant signs of the times. 
 I have often spoken of the present age as a period 
 of preparation ; a period, in which God is ordering 
 and arranging the state of the whole earth, so as to 
 provide for the wide and rapid spread of the Gos- 
 pel which is to bring in the glory of the Millennial 
 day. That great revolution is to be accomplished 
 with a suddenness, which men are little inclined to 
 expect, and which is designed more fuUy to prove 
 the work to be His with whom " one day is as a 
 
Persons and Events. 291 
 
 thousand years, and a thousand years as one day." 
 So has He Himself described it, when He says, 
 " As the lightning which lighteneth out of the one 
 part under heaven, shineth unto the other part 
 under heaven, so shall the Son of man be in His 
 day." And here we see one of the instrumentali- 
 ties which God is preparing for the great and 
 rapid conversion of the world unto Himself. We 
 see it in His gathering so large a portion of the 
 human family into cities, where His word can 
 reach multitudes the more speedily, and at the 
 same time, the new converts go forth with the 
 increased advantages of this social and civil posi- 
 tion, to spread His triumph through whole lands. 
 Accordingly, it is foretold by Isaiah, " In that day 
 shall five cities in the land of Egypt speak the 
 language of Canaan and swear to the Lord of 
 Hosts;" and then it follows, "In that day there 
 shall be an altar to the Lord in the midst of the 
 land of Egypt, and a pillar in the border thereof 
 to the Lord." But before the whole land or the 
 borders thereof, shall be pervaded by the worship 
 of God and the spirit of truth, the cities must 
 speak the language of Canaan, and avow their 
 allegiance unto God. 
 
292 Recollections of 
 
 I will not pursue the discussion of this princi- 
 ple any farther. Let ine contemplate its applica- 
 tion. It has a language to New York that cannot 
 be mistaken, and ought to be deeply pondered. I 
 have alluded in another place to her numbers 
 increasing with a rapidity that seems almost fabu- 
 lous ; to her territory reaching from sea to sea, and 
 to the wealth flowing into her lap from every 
 quarter of the globe. Nor is this growth the 
 result of accident or of contingencies that might 
 change in a day. The Almighty hand that has 
 marked out the channels of rivers and the ranges 
 of mountains on this spacious continent, has or- 
 dained it by His unchangeable decree, that the 
 streams of commerce must all mainly centre here ; 
 and besides. He has so planted our hemisphere on 
 the map of the globe, that the trade of Europe 
 with Eastern Asia must ultimately pass through 
 the hands of our merchants. Judging from the 
 past, in ten years more New York will be the 
 second city in the civilized world, and in less than 
 a hundred years she will be the first, first in num- 
 bers, first in wealth, and what is more still, first in 
 that elastic and indomitable energy which is our 
 leading distinction among the nations of the earth. 
 
Persons and Events. 293 
 
 What a future does this open for our children 
 and our children's children! But what a fearful 
 responsibility does it throw upon them and upon 
 us ! If from him to whom much is given, much 
 shall be required, how high must be the scale of 
 our duties to God and His Gospel! Should reli- 
 gion either lose, or fail to strengthen its hold on this 
 city by our supineness, " the shadow on the sun- 
 dial" both for the land and the world, will have 
 gone back far beyond " ten degrees." 
 
 *I fondly hope for better things, and my hope is 
 strengthened, when I look back to our early his- 
 tory. It must be to all of us a token for good, 
 that this and other chief cities of our country, were 
 founded by men who brought their religion with 
 them from the land of their fathers ; and among 
 the first dwellino;s reared for themselves was a 
 house for divine worship. The street on which 
 stood the church where I spent the first years of 
 ray ministry, is endeared to me by that association. 
 There had been erected one of the oldest churches 
 in our City ; and it is said to have been the first 
 place of worship occupied by the inhabitants, after 
 they ventured to hold their assemblies outside of 
 the walls or stockade erected to protect the infant 
 
294 Recollections of 
 
 settlement from the sudden attacks of the Indians. 
 Generation after generation has since passed away, 
 and yet New York has never been left " without a 
 seed to serve" the God of their fathers from the 
 time its inhabitants were so few that " a child 
 might count them." And now when like Tyrus of 
 old "situate at the entrance of the sea," our city 
 has become the "merchant of the people of many 
 isles," our name known, and our commerce sought 
 by every nation on the face of the earth, what are 
 we doing to meet our high responsibilities result- 
 ing from our increased and daily increasing power ? 
 Is our influence felt for good or for evil throughout 
 our land, our continent, if not our world ? Are we 
 careful to study the measure of our duty both to 
 God and to man, and the temptations to evil by 
 which we are beset ? It is not to be denied that 
 there are channels arising out of our position as a 
 great commercial metropolis, through which "ini- 
 quity is coming in like a flood," and which should 
 be watched with increasing vigilance. 
 
 We are the point at which the inhabitants of 
 the two hemispheres are made to meet ; we form 
 the great gate-way through which the people of 
 foreign lands come to us in ever increasing multi- 
 
Pebsons and Events. 295 
 
 tudes; and while among them are those who 
 should be welcomed as valuable acquisitions to 
 both the church and the state, there are too many 
 who bring with them a rabid infidelity which aims 
 to overthrow every thing precious whether civil or 
 sacred ; a spirit of blasphemy which, in its wild 
 ravings, seems akin to that of which our Lord has 
 said, " This kind goeth not out but by prayer and 
 fasting." Are we doing what we can to infuse the 
 life of religion into this dark mass of ignorance 
 and unbelief which lies piled up at our door, to 
 exorcise this demoniac spirit which may in the end 
 obtain the mastery over us, if we do not soon 
 obtain the mastery over it ? 
 
 We have in the midst of us sinks of iniquity 
 where orgies are held too vile to be named, and 
 dens of the gambler where every species of fraud 
 and blasphemy are practised by night and by day. 
 Their doors leading down to death stand boldly 
 open to draw in their victims, especially from the 
 ranks of the young, and to blast them with a curse 
 that may follow them for time and for eternity. 
 If we are not willing to put forth our own hands 
 to abate these deadly nuisances, to cleanse our city 
 from these Augean stables, are we faithfully and 
 
296 Recollections op 
 
 promptly sustaining those who are engaged in the 
 self-denying, martyr-like work ? 
 
 In view of the religious destitution already 
 described, of the crowds that have no heart for the 
 sanctuary of God's worship, and could find no 
 room if they had the heart, are we doing what we 
 can to supply the want which forebodes so much 
 evil in the future. The cause of Domestic Mis- 
 sions has not been entirely neglected by the 
 churches of our land ; but whether much or 
 little is done on our frontiers and other destitute 
 parts of our country. City Missions have been 
 most unwisely and unhappily denied their due 
 share of attention. From what has been said it 
 i§ evident that the religious welfare of both city 
 and country requires that our cities be carefully 
 guarded, and adequate provision made for their 
 religions wants. In no city is this of more import- 
 ance than our own, and I hail it as an auspicious 
 sign that some of our churches are bestirring them- 
 selves in the work with a zeal which shows that 
 they feel the responsibility resting upon them. I 
 hope that the example will be followed by many 
 others, and that these enterprises now commenced 
 for the establishment of new churches will not be 
 
Persons and Events. 297 
 
 allowed to fail from the want of patience and per- 
 severance. I liave seen too many instances of these 
 shortlived efforts, and men amply qualified for 
 their work retiring from the field, exhausted and 
 perhaps broken-hearted by the conviction that they 
 had failed in their object and that their labors were 
 lost. It is not enough that such men have our con- 
 tributions and our prayers. They should have the 
 presence and co-operation of "men who from their 
 station in the Christian Community would 
 strengthen the hands of the preacher, and contrib- 
 ute to create confidence in him and his enterprise 
 in the minds of those among whom he is labor- 
 ing. 
 
 In connection with this destitution of sanctuary 
 privileges, look at the present state of the rising 
 generation. Every heart will bless God for our 
 Sunday-Schools. They have stayed a plague that 
 might otherwise have spread death worse than the 
 grave among our own sons and daughters. Their 
 rise and progress are among the richest blessings 
 that have distinguished the last half century. I 
 can remember when the Sunday-School was un- 
 known in our churches ; and when the early move- 
 ments were made to enlist the Christian community 
 
298 Recollections of 
 
 in the cause, so little was it understood and appre- 
 ciated that it was for a time earnestly opposed by 
 some of our good men as leading to a profanation 
 of the Lord's day. But these prejudices have been 
 overcome. Though the first labors were compara- 
 tively partial in our city, the tree, if small, made 
 itself known by its fruits. "The little one has 
 become a thousand," and the church would scarce 
 be viewed as deserving her name that had, not her 
 Sunday-School. But notwithstanding all that has 
 been done, how much remains to be done ! There 
 is yet " much land to be possessed." Though thou- 
 sands have been saved as " brands plucked out of 
 the burning," what hideous spectacles of juvenile 
 depravity blacken the records of our courts, and 
 startle us with horror as we read their foul history 
 day after day ! Our jails and penitentiaries stUl em- 
 brace within their dreary waEs many who, though 
 young and tender in years, are old and hardened in 
 crime ; nor can this frightful dominion of guilt be 
 arrested and overcome till Christians shall gird 
 themselves up with new zeal to save these victims 
 of vice from the ruin to which they are hastening. 
 
 If wealth is poured into our hands with un- 
 wonted abundance, what are we doing with it? 
 
Persons and Events. 299 
 
 Are we making it an idol, wasting it in prodigality- 
 hurtful to ourselves, or employing it for God ? 
 
 No wise observer can fail to perceive how just 
 and solemn are the words of Him " who spake as 
 never man spake," when He warns us against the 
 " deceitfulness of riches," and adds, " How hardly 
 shall a rich man enter the kingdom of Heaven." 
 In a city like this, we see it every day in the multi- 
 tudes who employ overflowing wealth to pam- 
 per their appetites, to minister to their pride, and 
 harden their hearts in forgetfulness of the Giver by 
 abuse of His gifts. But the evil does not end with 
 those who glory in this abuse of their abundance. 
 No watchman can have stood on Zion's walls till 
 he has grown gray in the service, who has not seen 
 how few Christians possess much of this world 
 without having their hearts more or less infected 
 and distracted by the love of it. They may not 
 themselves perceive the injury they are suffering; 
 they may be the last of all to see it ; thus showing 
 how great is that " deceitfulness of riches" against 
 which we have our Lord's solemn warning ; how 
 insidiously they wind themselves into the heart and 
 steal it away from God and from the duties we owe 
 Him. There is but one effectual security against 
 
300 Recollections of 
 
 the seductive temptation. It is by using our 
 wealth freely for the service of Him who gave it 
 to us. This, and this alone, can take the poison 
 from it ; and to this conviction Christians must be 
 brought, before their own hearts can be safe, or the 
 Church at large become animated by that spirit 
 which is yet to bring the whole earth to the 
 knowledge of the Gospel. 
 
 We must all rejoice to see that this spirit is ex- 
 tending itself among the churches in our day. In 
 some cases, large fortunes are inherited, and in 
 others large fortunes are acquired; and "the owners 
 thereof" feel that they have something better to do 
 with their large means than to squander their 
 money, or hoard it for the benefit of their heirs. 
 And well, both for themselves and their heirs, that 
 it should be so. "There is a sore evil," says 
 Solomon, "which I have seen under the sun, 
 namely, riches kept for the owners thereof to their 
 hurt; but those riches perish by evil travail; for 
 he begetteth a eon and there is nothing in his 
 hand ;" or, he hath nothing in his hand, that is, he 
 has nothing to do, as some interpret the words. 
 And the sore evil which Solomon may have seen, 
 perhaps felt to his own sorrow, hoarded riches 
 
Persons and Events. 301 
 
 making idlers of a man's sons, we may see every 
 day. Here are two youths of the same age, of like 
 talents and training ; but the one has large expec- 
 tations on which to lean, and the other is obliged to 
 rely, under God, on his own exertions. "Where will 
 you find the two, and how will they compare, when 
 they have lived to advanced manhood ? The one 
 scarce known except among idlers like himself, his 
 mind morbid and diseased from inaction, tired of 
 life, tired of himself, or perhaps, from want of 
 employment, seeking for excitement in sensual in- 
 dulgence which is hurrying him to his grave. The 
 other, with his faculties developed and his face 
 brightened by a life of honorable activity, is known 
 and felt throughout the community as a man who, 
 in his exertions for his own advantage, is also 
 building up our city and our country in character 
 and strength ; with a hand accustomed to work, he 
 gives his ready aid to whatever promotes the 
 public good ; and in the consciousness of aiming to 
 do his duty faithfully, he enjoys life and enjoys 
 himself. True, there are honored exceptions to the 
 dark side of this picture. We have men who in- 
 herit fortunes, and who instead of being idlers are 
 active benefacto s in the community, and who em- 
 
302 Recollections of 
 
 ploy their abundant" resources with a liberal hand to 
 promote the public good both in Church and State, 
 But these are exceptions, not samples of the class 
 to which they belong. It cannot be otherwise. 
 All our institutions are based on the principle that 
 we are a nation of working men, and that if there 
 must be an aristocracy in every country, the aris- 
 tocracy with us is not an aristocracy of wealth or 
 of birth, but of enterprise, industry, and integrity. 
 We have nothing about us to perpetuate or coun- 
 tenance idlers as a class. In our stirring nation, 
 such men are exotics, and are often driven in self- 
 defence to go abroad in order to find company to 
 sympathize with them in the unenviable distinc- 
 tion of having nothing to do. 
 
 If, then, our men of wealth would not injure 
 their children by it, they must employ it freely for 
 purposes of good. I would say to them, give your 
 children a wise share of it, enough to enable them 
 to begin life with advantage and on a scale corre- 
 sponding with your present rank and position in 
 the world, but not enough to make them feel that 
 they have nothing to do for themselves. You will 
 thus have given them both excitement and en 
 courageraent to act well their part. You will 
 
Persons and Events. 303 
 
 render their patrimony not a loss, but a gain. 
 With the goods of this world which they inherit 
 from you, they will inherit a name all the more 
 honored among men because you will have signalized 
 it by your own deeds of piety and mercy; and they 
 will inherit a blessing from Grod which He is 
 pleased to bestow on those whose fathers have 
 served Him faithfully and devotedly with all that 
 is theirs. And then, too, you will have trained 
 them to acquire respect and gain a high station in 
 a land where, as we have said, no nobility is known 
 but that which a man creates for himself. Indeed, 
 I have sometimes thought that one design of the 
 Most High in framing the social structure of this 
 nation on the principles of freedom and equality 
 which distinguish us, was to constrain men of 
 affluence to set the Christian world a noble ex- 
 ample of how wealth should be employed; to 
 show that he who has most of it should neither 
 squander nor hoard it, but should view himself as 
 a steward under God on a larger scale ; and should 
 act, not like the barren sands of the desert, which, 
 though saturated with rain from heaven, give back 
 neither life nor beauty, but like the genial soil 
 which God has blesserl, and which in return for 
 
304 Recollections of 
 
 Heaven's rain and sun, displays its fertility in 
 flowers that fill the air with fragrance, and in 
 harvests that sustain health and life in every thing 
 that lives. 
 
 Let us be assured such a time is coming — a 
 time when the claims of God and His Gospel on 
 the rich will be felt and owned ; and if, in view of 
 that wide-spread darkness which has long covered 
 the earth, I am asked,' ' Watchman, what of the 
 night ? — watchman, what of the night ?" I can 
 answer, " The morning cometh," for I can see a 
 token of the breaking day in the goodly number of 
 those who are educating their minds up to a stand- 
 ard of duty befitting their means of doing good, 
 and the day in which they live. Among them are 
 men who stand high among our merchant princes. 
 Let them cultivate the spirit of large-hearted 
 generosity which already distinguishes them, and 
 they will be followed by others who will show 
 themselves ready to every good word and work. 
 Every one must see that at the present time the 
 heart of the city is greatly enlarged. "War has 
 its evils, and frightful evils, especially when it is a 
 civil war like ours. And yet good may be evoked 
 from the calamity, terrible as it is. A o-enerous 
 
Persons and Events. 305 
 
 feeling has been shown, not only to the wounded 
 and suffering of our armies, but to the Command- 
 ers who have led them to victories which do 
 honor to the nation. Such a spirit of munificence 
 grows by exercise, and the generosity thus 
 awakened will last and be felt when the present 
 scenes of bloodshed no longer call for either pity 
 or gratitude. This benevolence towards men is 
 closely allied to a liberal spirit in the cause of 
 religion; and we view it as the harbinger of 
 enlarged gifts for the spread of the Gospel. Let our 
 rich men lead the way as some of them are doing 
 now ; let our merchants contribute of their gains 
 on a scale commensurate with their ability and 
 their position in this great commercial metropolis, 
 and one of the predicted signs of the coming 
 millennium will already be seen. " The daughter 
 of Tyre," says David, " shall be there with a gift ; 
 even the rich among the people shall entreat Thy 
 favor." — "The merchandise of Tyre," says Isaiah, 
 " shall be holiness to the Lord ; it shall not be 
 treasured or laid up." And again, "surely the 
 isles shall wait for me, the ships of Tarshish first," 
 that is, the choice merchantjnen of the day taking 
 
 the lead, " the ships of Tarshish first, to bring thy 
 20 
 
306 Recollections of 
 
 sons from afar, their silver and their gold with 
 them unto the name o^ the Lord thy God and to 
 the Holy One of Israel, because He hath glorified 
 thee." 
 
 Happy the man who in this spirit poure forth 
 his abundant stores at the foot of the Cross ; and 
 happy the city where such men dwell ! Thrice 
 happy the city whose merchants will be the first to 
 show the illustrious example, who will bring the 
 " ships of Tarshish, their silver and their gold with 
 them" into that leading place which the prophet 
 has assigned them in the work of spreading 
 salvation to the farthest borders of the earth ! 
 Thrice happy the city that will thus arise as a 
 morning star of hope to our now benighted world ; 
 as a leading star in that bright constellation which 
 will pour its radiance over all nations, when " the 
 light of the moon shall be as the light of the sun, 
 and the light of the sun shall be seven-fold, as 
 the light of seven days !" 
 
 It cannot be deemed strange that I should feel 
 a strong solicitude concerning our duties and 
 prospects as a Christian city. Nearly fifty-eight 
 years have, passed since I commenced my work as 
 
Persons and Events. 307 
 
 a preacher of the Gospel, and New York has "been 
 from first to last the scene of my labors. It would 
 be an offence, both against God and my own 
 feelings, if the future of a place where my whole 
 public life has been spent should not be made the 
 subject of deep concern. I have lived to see my 
 fathers and brethren one after another pass away 
 to their reward, until, so far as I know, I am the 
 sole survivor of those who belonged to the ministry 
 in our city when I entered it. Men " whose praise 
 is in all the Churches," as Livingston, Abeel, Mc- 
 Murray, Milledoler, Brodhead, Eodgers, JVIason, 
 McLeod, Miller, Roraeyn, Moore, Hobart, Lyell, 
 Wainwright, Anthon, Williams, Cone, Bangs, and 
 others, are all gone ; and, as if standing at their 
 hallowed graves, and speaking in their honored 
 names, had I a voice that could reach every Church 
 of ever}^ name in the midst of us, I would entreat 
 them to remember that we are "a city set upon 
 a hill that cannot be hid;" and that the admo- 
 nition is addressed to us with a significance that 
 should lead us to ponder it carefully, " Behold I 
 have set before thee an open door, and no man 
 can shut it ; hold that fast which thou hast, that no 
 man take thy crown." 
 
308 Recollections of 
 
 I rejoice to believe that the prospect is bright- 
 ened with earnests which may give us strong hope 
 for the future. One of the most cheering among 
 them is found in the spirit now animating the 
 ministers of the Gospel, all the more encouraging 
 too, because so plainly to be seen among the 
 younger members of the profession, who of course 
 may be expected to be longest in the service. 
 
 I am far from anticipating evil from the 
 change which, as all must admit, has taken place 
 in the ministrations of our pulpits. Every age 
 in the Church has its appropriate work, and 
 the ministry given to her by her divine Head 
 will be suited to the work which he has then 
 given her to do. There are periods when she is 
 specially called to contend against some alarming 
 heresy. Her Lord then qualifies her ministry with 
 gifts adapted to the vindication of His truth. 
 There are times, again, when she needs an enlarged 
 zeal for spreading abroad the Word of Life to those 
 who are perishing through lack of knowledge. 
 He then anoints her ministry with a spirit which 
 may arouse her to feel her responsibility as the 
 Light of the world ; and here, as I conceive, lies 
 the chief feature of the change which the pulpit 
 
Persons and Events. 309 
 
 among us has undergone. If it shows less of the 
 power to demolish error, it has more of the spirit- 
 stirring tone that excites the zeal of the Christian 
 to labor for the spread of the Saviour's kingdom 
 ' both at home and abroad. 
 
 Our venerated Clergy who have finished 
 their course and kept the faith, have done their 
 work, and have done it well ; but highly as we may 
 respect their memories, and grateful as we may feel 
 for th€ services they have rendered to the cause of 
 truth, I do not think the Churches of the city ever 
 possessed a ministry better qualified for the work 
 of their day than they now enjoy. 
 
310 Recollections of 
 
 GHAPTER XIV. 
 
 Interview between Rev. Dr. Bodgers and General Hamilton. 
 — Convention to frame the Constitution of the United 
 States. — Perplexities attending their Deliberations. — 
 Erroneous Statement op their Proceepings on Dr. Frank- 
 lin's Motion to appoint a Chaplain. — True Account in the 
 Madison Papers. — Forgetfulness of God, with Self- 
 Exaltation, A prevalent Sin op the Nation. — The Sin re- 
 buked IN the present National Troubles. — State Bights 
 and Federal Sovereignty, as exhibited in the Letters 
 of General Washington. — Moral Considerations which 
 should contribute to the future Peace and Harmony of 
 the Nation. 
 
 It is said that wlien General Hamilton returned 
 from meeting the Convention in l^ST, at which the 
 Constitution of the United States was adopted, he 
 ,was met by Rev. Dr. Rodgers, and, referring to the 
 Convention and its deliberations, he asked the 
 Doctor how he liked the Constitution. 
 
 The Doctor answered, " Not so well as I hoped 
 I should like it, General. It has this great defect. 
 The name of God is not mentioned in it, nor is He 
 acknowledged as Governor among the nati As, from 
 first to last in the paper." 
 
 " I declare," said General Hamilton, with much 
 
Persons and Events. 311 
 
 earnestness, " I declare we forgot it, and much do I 
 regret that it should have been so." 
 
 And ever since his day, thousands and thou- 
 sands of our countrymen have regretted the same 
 thing, and have wondered how a body of men 
 comprising so much ability and excellence could 
 have committed such an oversight. 
 
 There is another incident connected with the 
 proceedings of the Convention, which partakes of 
 the same character, and awakened the regrets of 
 several members of the body while yet in session. 
 It has been described in so many different ways, and 
 is in itself an event of so much interest in our 
 early history, that I have taken the pains to ascer- 
 tain the facts, and to make a record of them as they 
 actually occurred. The occasion is referred to by a 
 Avriter whose spirited and graphic description must 
 interest the reader, though some of his statements 
 are the result of mistake. He states that he had 
 received his information from General Dayton, of 
 New Jersey, whom he represents as saying : 
 
 "I was a delegate from New Jersey in the 
 General Convention which assembled in Philadel- 
 phia, for the purpose of digesting a Constitution 
 for the United States, and I believe I was the 
 
312 Recollections of 
 
 youngest member of that body. The great and 
 good Washington was then our President, and Dr. 
 Franklin, among other great men, was a delegate 
 from Pennsylvania. A disposition was soon dis- 
 covered in some members to display themselves in 
 oratorical flourishes — ^but the good sense and 
 discretion of the majority put down all such 
 attempts. We had convened to deliberate upon, 
 and if possible effect, a great national object — to 
 search for political wisdom and truth; these we 
 meant to pursue with simplicity, and to avoid every 
 thing which would have a tendency to divert our 
 attention or perplex our scheme. 
 
 " A great variety of projects were proposed — 
 all republican in general outlines, but differing in 
 theii' details. It was therefore determined that 
 certain elementary principles should at the first be 
 established in each branch of the intended Con- 
 stitution, and afterwards the details should be 
 debated and filled up. 
 
 " There was little or no difficulty in determin- 
 ing upon the elementary principles; such as, for 
 instance, that the government should be a repub- 
 lican representative government ; that it should be 
 divided into three branches, that is, Legislative, 
 
Persons and Events. 313 
 
 Executive, and Judicial, &c. But when the organi- 
 zation of the Legislative branch came under con- 
 sideration, it was easy to be perceived that the 
 Eastern and Southern States had distinct interests, 
 which it was difficult to reconcile; and that the 
 larger States were disposed to form a Constitution 
 in which the smaller States would be mere appen- 
 dages and satellites to the larger ones. On the 
 first of these subjects much animated and some- 
 what angry debate had taken place, when the 
 I'atio of representation in the lower house of 
 Congress was before us ; the Southern States claim- 
 ing for themselves the whole number of black 
 population, while the Eastern States were for 
 confining the elective franchise to freemen only, 
 without respect to color. 
 
 " As the different parties adhered pertinaciously 
 to their different positions, it was feared that this 
 would prove an insurmountable obstacle; but as 
 the members were already generally satisfied that 
 no Constitution could be formed, which would meet 
 the views and subserve the interests of each individ- 
 ual State, it was evident that it must be a matter 
 of compromise and mutual concession. Under 
 these impressions, and with these views, it was 
 
314 Recollections of 
 
 agreed at length that ea«h State should be entitled 
 to one delegate in the House of Representatives for 
 eveiy thirty thousand of its inhabitants ; in which 
 number should be included three fifths of the 
 whole number of their slaves. 
 
 "When the details of the House of Represen- 
 tatives were disposed of, a more knotty point 
 presented itself in the organization of the Senate. 
 The larger States contended that the same ratio as 
 to States should be common to both branches of 
 the Legislature ; or, in other words, that each State 
 should be entitled to a representation in the 
 Senate (whatever might be the number fixed on) 
 in proportion to its population, as in the House 
 of Representatives. The smaller States, on the 
 other hand, contended that the House of Repre- 
 sentatives might be considered as the guardian of 
 the liberties of the people, and therefore ought to 
 have a just proportion to their numbers ; but that 
 the Senate represented the sovereignty of the 
 States, and that as each State, whether great or 
 small, was equally an independent and sovereign 
 State, it ought in this branch of the Legislature to 
 have equal weight and authority. "Without this, 
 they said, there would be no security for their 
 
Persons and Events. 315 
 
 rights, and they would, by such a distribution of 
 power, be merged and lost in the larger States. 
 
 " This reasoning, however plain and powerful, 
 had but little influence on the minds of the dele- 
 gates from the larger States ; and as they formed a 
 large majority of the Convention, the question, 
 after passing through the forms of debate, was 
 decided that each State should be represented in 
 the Senate in proportion to its population. 
 
 " When the Convention had adjourned over to 
 the next daiy, the delegates of the four smallest 
 States, viz., Ehode Island, Connecticut, New 
 Jersey, and Delaware, convened to consult what 
 course was to be pursued in the important crisis at 
 which we had arrived. After serious investigation, 
 it was solemnly determined to ask for a reconsidera- 
 tion the next morning ; and if it was not granted, 
 or if, when granted, that offensive feature of the 
 Constitution could not be expunged, and the 
 smaller States put upon an equal footing with the 
 largest, we would secede from the Convention ; and, 
 returning to our constituents, inform them that no 
 compact could be formed with the large States, but 
 one which would sacrifice, our sovereignty and 
 independence. 
 
316 Recollections of 
 
 " I was deputed to be the organ through which 
 this communication should be made ; I know not 
 why, unless it be that young men are generally 
 chosen to perform rash actions. Accordingly, 
 when the Convention had assembled, and as soon as 
 the minutes of the last sitting were read, I rose, 
 and stated the view we had taken of the organiza- 
 tion of the Senate, our desire to obtain a recon- 
 sideration and suitable modification of that article, 
 and in failure thereof, our determination to secede 
 from the Convention, and return to our constit- 
 uents. 
 
 " This disclosure, it may readily be supposed, 
 produced an immediate and great excitement in 
 every part of the house. Several members were 
 immediately on the floor, to express their surprise 
 or indignation. They represented that the que - 
 tion had received a full and fair investigation, 
 and had been definitively settled by a very large 
 majority; that it was altogether unparliamentai-y 
 and unreasonable for one of the minority to pro- 
 pose a reconsideration at the moment their act 
 had become a matter of record, and without 
 pretending that any new light could be thrown 
 on the subject ; that if such a precedent should 
 
Persons and Events. 317 
 
 be established, it would in future be impossible 
 to say when any one point was distinctly settled, 
 as a small minority might at any moment, again 
 and again, move and obtain a reconsideration. 
 They therefore hoped the Convention would ex- 
 press its decided disapprobation by passing silently 
 to the business before them. 
 
 " There was much warm and some acrimonious 
 feeling exhibited by a number of the speakers ; 
 a rupture appeared almost inevitable, and the 
 bosom of Washington seemed to labor with the 
 most anxious solicitude for the issue. Happily 
 for the United States, the Convention contained 
 some individuals possessed of talents and virtues 
 of the highest order, whose hearts were deeply 
 interested in the establishment of a new and 
 efficient form of government, and whose penetra- 
 ting minds had already deplored the evils which 
 would spring up in our newly-established republic, 
 should the present attempt to consolidate it prove 
 abortive. Among these personages, the most prom- 
 inent was Doctor Franklin. He was esteemed 
 the Mentor of our body. To a mind naturally 
 strong and capacious, enriched by much reading 
 and the experience of many years, he added a 
 
318 Recollections of 
 
 manner of communicating bis thouglits peculiarly 
 his own, in which simplicity, beauty, and strength, 
 were equally conspicuous. As soon as the angi-y 
 orators who had preceded him had left an opening, 
 the Doctor rose, evidently impressed with the 
 weight of the subject before them, and the difficulty 
 of managing it successfully. ' We have arrived, 
 Mr. President,' said he, ' at a very momentous and 
 interesting crisis in our deliberations. Hitherto 
 our views have been as harmonious, and our 
 progi'ess as great, as could reasonably have been 
 expected. But now an unlooked-for and formida- 
 ble obstacle is thrown in our way, which threatens 
 to arrest our course, and, if not skilfully removed, 
 to render all our fond hopes of a Constitution 
 abortive. The ground which has been taken by 
 the delegates of the four smallest States was as 
 unexpected by me, and as repugnant to my 
 feelings, as it «an be to any other member of this 
 Convention. After what I thought a full and 
 impartial investigation of the subject, I recorded 
 my vote on the affirmative side of the question, and 
 I have not yet heard any thing which induces me to 
 change my opinion. But I will not conclude it is 
 impossible for me to be wrong. I will not say that 
 
Persons and Events. 319 
 
 those gentlemen who differ from me are under a 
 delusion ; much less will I charge them with an 
 intention of needlessly embarrassing our delibera- 
 tions. It is possible some change in our late pro- 
 ceedings ought to take place, upon principles of 
 political justice ; or that, all things considered, the 
 majority may see cause to recede from some of their 
 just pretensions, as a matter of prudence and expe- 
 dience. For my own part, there is nothing I so much 
 dread as a failure to devise and establish some effi- 
 cient and equal form of government for our infant re- 
 public. The present effort has been made under the 
 happiest auspices, and has promised the most favor- 
 able results ; but should this effort prove vain, it 
 will be long ere another can be made with any 
 prospect of success. Our strength and our pros- 
 perity will depend on our unity ; and the secession 
 of even four of the smallest States, interspersed as 
 they are, would, in my mind, paralyze and render 
 useless any plan which the majority could devise. 
 I should therefore be grieved, Mr. President, to see 
 matters brought to the test which has been, perhaps 
 too rashly, threatened on the one hand, and which 
 some of my honored colleagues have treated too 
 lightly on the other. I am convinced that it is a 
 
320 Recollections of 
 
 subject which should be approached with caution, 
 treated with tendem6ss, and decided on with 
 candor and liberality. It is, however, to be feared 
 that the members of this Convention are not in 
 a temper, at this moment, to approach the sub- 
 ject on which we diflfer, in a proper spirit. I 
 would therefore propose, Mr. President, that, 
 without proceeding further in this business at this 
 time, the Convention should adjourn for three 
 days, in order to let the present ferment pass 
 off, and to afford time for a more full and dis- 
 passionate investigation of the subject ; and I would 
 earnestly recommend to the members of this 
 Convention that they spend the time of this 
 recess, not in associating with their own party, 
 and devising new arguments to fortify themselves 
 in their own opinions, but that they mix with 
 members of opposite sentiments, lend a patient 
 ear to their reasoning, and candidly allow them 
 all the weight to which they may be entitled ; 
 and when we assemble again, I hope it will be 
 with a determination to form a Constitution — ^if 
 not such an one as we can individually, and in 
 aU respects, approve, yet the best which, under 
 existing circumstances, can be obtained.' Here 
 
Persons and Events. 321 
 
 the countenance of "Washington brightened, and a 
 cheering ray seemed to break in upon the gloom 
 which had recently covered our political horizon. 
 The Doctor continued: — 'Before I sit down, 
 Mr. President, I will suggest another matter ; and 
 I am really surprised that it has not been proposed 
 by some other member at an earlier period of our 
 deliberations. I will suggest, Mr. President, the 
 propriety of nominating and appointing, before we 
 separate, a chaplain to this Convention, whose duty 
 it shall be uniformly to assemble with us, and 
 introduce the business of each day by an address 
 to the Creator of the Universe, and the Governor 
 of all nations, beseeching Him to preside in our 
 councils, enlighten our minds with a portion of 
 heavenly wisdom, influence our hearts with a love 
 of truth and justice, and crown our labors with 
 complete and abundant success !' 
 
 " The Doctor sat down ; and never did I behold 
 a countenance at once so dignified and delighted as 
 was that of Washington, at the close of this 
 address. Nor were the members of the Conven- 
 tion, generally, less affected. The words of the 
 venerable Franklin fell upon our ears with a 
 
 weight and authority even greater than we may 
 21 
 
322 Recollections of 
 
 suppose an oracle to have had in a Roman Senate, 
 A silent admiration superseded, for a moment, the 
 expression of that assent and approbation which 
 was strongly marked on almost every countenance ; I 
 say almost — ^for one man was found in the Conven- 
 tion, Mr. , of , who rose and said, with 
 
 regard to the first motion of the honorable gentle- 
 man, for an adjournment, he would yield his 
 consent ; but he protested against the second 
 motion, for the appointment of a chaplain. He 
 then commenced a high-strained eulogium on the 
 assemblage of wisdom, talent, and experience, which 
 the Convention embraced ; declared the high sense 
 he entertained of the honor which his constituents 
 had conferred upon him, in making him a member 
 of that respectable body ; said he was confidently 
 of opinion that they were competent to transact the 
 business which had been intrusted to their care; 
 that they were equal to every exigence which might 
 occur; and concluded by saying that, therefore, 
 he had not seen the necessity of calling in foreign 
 aid. 
 
 "Washington fixed his eyes upon the speaker 
 with a mixture of surprise and indignation, while 
 he uttered this impertinent and impious speech, and 
 
Persons and Events. 323 
 
 then looked around to ascertain in what manner it 
 affected others. They did not leave him. a moment 
 to doubt: no one deigned to reply, or take the 
 smallest notice of the speaker, but the motion for 
 appointing a chaplain was instantly seconded and 
 canied ; whether under the silent disapprobation of 
 
 Mr. , or his solitary negative, I do not recollect. 
 
 The motion for an adjournment was then put, and 
 earned unanimously; and the Convention ad- 
 journed accordingly. 
 
 " The three days' recess were spent in the manner 
 advised by Doctor Franklin : the opposite parties 
 mixed with each other, and a free and frank inter- 
 change of sentiments took place. On the fourth day 
 we assembled again ; and if great additional light 
 had not been thrown on the subject, every un- 
 friendly feeling had been expelled, and a spirit of 
 conciliation had been cultivated which promised at 
 least a calm and dispassionate reconsideration of the 
 subject. 
 
 " As soon as the Chaplain had closed his prayer, 
 and the minutes of the last sitting were read, all 
 eyes were turned to the Doctor. He rose, and in a 
 few words stated, that during the recess he had 
 listened attentively to all the arguments, pro and 
 
324 Recollections op 
 
 con, which LuA been urged on footli sides of the 
 House ; that he had himself said much, and thought 
 more, on the subject ; he saw difficulties and objec- 
 tions which might be urged by individual States 
 against every scheme which had been proposed; 
 and he was now more than ever convinced that the 
 Constitution which they were about to form, in 
 order to be just and equal, must be founded on the 
 basis of compromise and mutual concession. With 
 such views and feelings, he would now move a re- 
 consideration of the vote last taken on the organiza- 
 tion of the Senate. The motion was seconded — the 
 vote cajried — the former vote rescinded — and, by a 
 successive motion and resolution, the Senate was 
 organized on the present plan." 
 
 The spirit which pervades this narrative is so 
 excellent that we feel reluctant to find fault with it. 
 But the writer is under a mistake in some im- 
 portant points. The story must have undergone 
 a change after it came from General Dayton, for we 
 can hardly suppose that he would state the facts in 
 a manner different from that in which authentic 
 records show them to have actually occurred. 
 
 Mr. Madison was a leading member of the Con- 
 
Peksons and Events. 325 
 
 vention, and kept a very minute record of all its 
 deliberations and proceedings, which is now pub- 
 lished in the " Madison Papers." He describes the 
 crisis in the 'Convention on the subject of represen- 
 tation in the Senate, and on other topics, to have 
 become alarming, and shows that the impending 
 danger of. an open rupture was averted by a spirit 
 of concession and compromise on both sides of 
 various questions. He also notices a proposition 
 to adjourn, not for three days, but to the day 
 following, and makes particular mention of Dr. 
 Franklin's motion for the introduction of religious 
 service by a chaplain. But although the Conven- 
 tion agreed to adjourn, the motion for inviting a 
 chaplain to open the Convention with prayer was 
 not carried. In Franklin's works, we have his 
 speech on the subject, to which a note is appended 
 by himself, stating that his proposition failed ; and 
 in the " Madison Papers" we find the history of the 
 whole matter to have been as follows : 
 
 The proceedings referred to were on the 28th 
 of June ; and on that day the determination of the 
 question before the Convention " was put off till 
 to-morrow at the request of the Deputies from New 
 York," when Dr. Franklin arose and said : 
 
326 Recollections of 
 
 "'Mr. President: — ^The small progi-ess we have 
 made after four or five Weeks close attendance and 
 continual reasonings with each other, our different 
 sentiments on almost every question, several of the 
 last producing as many noes as ayes, is, methinks, a 
 melancholy proof of the imperfection of the human 
 understanding. We, indeed, seem to feel our own 
 want of political wisdom, since we have been run- 
 ning about in search of it. We have gone back to an- 
 cient history for models of government, and examined 
 the different forms of those republics which, having 
 been formed with the seeds of their own dissolu- 
 tion, now no longer exist. And we have viewed 
 modern states all round Europe, but find none of 
 their constitutions suitable to our circumstances. 
 
 " ' In the situation of this Assembly, groping as 
 it were in the dark to find political truth, and 
 scarce able to distinguish it when presented to us, 
 how has it happened, sir, that we have not hitherto 
 once thought of humbly applying to the Father of 
 Lights, to illuminate our understanding? In the 
 beginning of the contest with Great Britain, when 
 we were sensible of danger, we had daily prayer in 
 this room, for the Divine protection. Our prayers, 
 sir, were heard, and they were graciously answered. 
 
Persons and Events. 327 
 
 All of us who were engaged in the struggle must 
 have observed frequent instances of a superintend- 
 ing Providence in our favor. To that kind Provi- 
 dence we owe this happy opportunity of consulting 
 in peace on the means of establishing our future 
 national felicity. And have we now forgotten that 
 powerful Friend? Or do we imagine that we no 
 longer need His assistance ? I have lived, sir, a long 
 time, and the longer I live the more convincing 
 proofs I see of this truth, that God governs in the 
 affairs of men. And if a sparrow cannot fall to the 
 ground without His notice, is it probable that an em- 
 pire can rise without His aid ? We have been assured, 
 sir, in the Sacred Writings, that " except the Lord 
 build the house, they labor in vain that build it." 
 I firmly believe this ; and I also believe that, with- 
 out His concurring aid, we shall succeed in this 
 political building no better than the builders of 
 Babel. We shall be divided by our little partial 
 local interests; our projects will be confounded: 
 and we ourselves shall become a reproach and a by- 
 word down to future ages. And what is worse, man- 
 kind may hereafter, from this unfortunate instance, 
 despair of establishing governments by human vds- 
 dom, and leave it to chance, war, and conquest. 
 
328 Recollections of 
 
 "*I therefore beg leave to move, that, hence- 
 forth, prayers imploring the assistance of Heaven, 
 and its blessing on our deliberations, be held in 
 this Assembly every morning before we proceed to 
 business, and that one or more of the clergy of 
 this city be requested to officiate in this service.' 
 
 " Mr. Sherman seconded the motion. 
 
 "Mr, Hamilton, and several others, expressed 
 their apprehensions that, however proper such 
 a resolution might have been at the beginning of 
 the Convention, it might at this late day, in the 
 first place, bring on it some disagreeable animad- 
 versions; and in the second, lead the public to 
 believe that the embarrassments and dissensions 
 within the Convention had suggested this measure. 
 It was answered by Dr. Franklin, Mr. Sherman, and 
 others, that the past omission of a duty could not 
 justify a fm"ther omission ; that the rejection of such 
 a proposition would expose the Convention to more 
 unpleasant animadversions than the adoption of it ; 
 and that the alarm out of doors that might be 
 excited for the state of things within, would at 
 least be as likely to do good as ill. 
 
 "Mr. Randolph proposed, in order to give a 
 favorable aspect to the measure, that a sermon be 
 
Persons and Events. 329 
 
 preached, at the request of the Convention, on the 
 Fourth of July, the anniversary of Independence ; 
 and thenceforward prayers, &c,, to be read in the 
 Convention every morning. After several unsuc- 
 cessful attempts for silently postponing this 
 matter by adjourning, the adjournment was at 
 length carried, without any vote on the motion." 
 
 From this minute account, the accuracy of 
 which no one will question, it will be seen that 
 although the motion was not carried, it was not 
 directly negatived. The Convention disposed of it 
 by adjoiu-nment. It wiU also be seen that those 
 who opposed the motion did not argue against the 
 principle of having the Convention opened by 
 prayer. They argued fi-om the inexpediency, as 
 they deemed it, of introducing religious services at 
 that juncture in the proceedings of their body. I 
 regret that they should have taken that view of 
 the case. The reply made to their objection, by 
 Dr. Franklin and others, ought to have satisfied 
 them ; but still'there was nothing in their opposi- 
 tion that can be justly termed scoffing at religion, 
 and had the wise proposition been made when the 
 Convention first assembled, in all probability it 
 
330 Recollections of 
 
 would have passed unanimously. But, notwith- 
 standing these extenuating considerations, we must 
 deeply regret that the decision in the end was such 
 as indirectly to put a negative on Dr. Franklin's 
 proposition. 
 
 Seldom has the nation seen so eventful a period 
 as when the Convention met for the adoption of the 
 Federal Constitution. A tempest had been sweep- 
 ing over the country that made the wisest and 
 bravest among her patriots fear that the sacrifices 
 of the Revolution had been in vain ; and if the 
 excellent men to whom were intrusted the des- 
 tinies of the nation at this eventful crisis, had not 
 too much forgotten to whom they should have 
 looked for counsel and direction, if they had com- 
 menced and continued their deliberations by a daily 
 acknowledgment of their dependence on Him " by 
 whom princes decree justice," we might have had 
 from their hands a Constitution in which God's 
 name would have been honored, and imperfec- 
 tions avoided which have since led to painful con- 
 flicts. I do not forget that Washington was among 
 them, and acting as their President ; but Washington 
 was not so wise that he needed no wisdom from above. 
 He would have been the last man to say so. It 
 
Persons and Events. 331 
 
 should be remembered also that the wishes of 
 Washington were not always followed by the Con- 
 vention, although he was their presiding officer. 
 Had he been consulted on the question, I have no 
 doubt that he would have avowed his hearty con- 
 currence in the proposition of Franklin. Qualify it 
 as we may, and regret it as we may, the whole 
 transaction, as it stands recorded, furnishes another 
 proof that forgetfulness of God has long been 
 the besetting sin of the nation, and has resulted in 
 that rife spirit of pride and self-exaltation which has 
 become a source of alarm, awakening a painful appre- 
 hension for the future in the minds of reflecting 
 men. They cannot forget that it was when the 
 king of Babylon was upon the eve of his humilia- 
 tion that he " walked on the palace of the kingdom, 
 and said : ' Is not this great Babylon that I have 
 built for the house of the kingdom by the might of 
 my power and the honor of my majesty?' " They 
 cannot avoid seeing an admonition to our nation in 
 the words addressed to Israel : " Beware that thou 
 forget not the Lord thy God — lest when thou hast 
 eaten and art full, and hast built goodly houses and 
 dwelt therein ; and when thy herds and thy flocks 
 midtiply, and thy silver and tby gold is multiplied, 
 
332 Recollections of 
 
 and all that thou hast is multiplied ; then thy heart 
 be lifted up and thou forget the Lord thy God 
 which brought thee forth fi-om the land of Egypt, 
 out of the house of bondage, and thou say in thine 
 heart, ' My power and the might of my hand hath 
 gotten me this wealth.' But thou shalt remember 
 the Lord thy God ; for it is He that giveth thee 
 power to get wealth, that He may establish the cov- 
 enant which He sware unto thy fathers as it is this 
 day." 
 
 But, obvious and prevalent as may have been 
 this tendency of the public mind to forget the Giver 
 of all good in the earlier years of our history as a 
 nation, the sin has become still more offensive as we 
 have grown in numbers and strength, and especially 
 since we have added to our territory the rich and 
 vast regions lying on the shores of the Pacific. 
 That event, indeed, formed a great era in the histoiy 
 of our country, and gave us a power of expansion 
 and of gro^vth seldom, if ever, possessed by any other 
 nation. It carried us across the continent from sea 
 to sea, furnishing us with every variety of valuable 
 coast for purposes of commerce. It gave us com- 
 mand of a wide extent of territory, including min- 
 eral wealth of every description, and a soil yielding 
 
Persons and Events. 333 
 
 to the husbandman every thing which can add to 
 the comfort or health of man. And notwithstand- 
 ing this great addition to our boundaries, we 
 were so protected by the two great oceans on 
 our eastern and western shores as to feel secure 
 against war with any foreign Power at all able to 
 contend with us. Nothing, indeed, was wanting, 
 but that we should be true to ourselves, to render 
 us all that the highest ambition of the nation could 
 well aspire to reach. 
 
 These advantages were the gifts of Him who 
 " hath made of one blood all nations of men for to 
 dwell on the face of the earth, and hath determined 
 the bounds of their habitation ;" and yet, we forgot 
 His hand thus contributing to our greatness, and 
 allowed these displays of His goodness to minister 
 afresh to a sentiment of pride and self-laudation. 
 
 We boasted of our vast territory, binding, as 
 we thought, one section of the country to anothei", 
 by that law of supply and demand which renders 
 them mutually dependent. We forgot that from 
 this diversity of clime and consequent diversity of 
 pursuits might arise diversity of tastes, interests, and 
 condition, resulting in alienations and collisions 
 fatal to the preservation of our Union. We boasted 
 
334 Recollections of 
 
 of our safety from war by our distance from other 
 nations. We forgot h.6w soon the worst of all wars 
 might arise within ourselves, civil war, deluging 
 the land with the blood of brother shed by the 
 hand of brother. We were proud of our name, 
 "The United States of America," and of a union 
 secured, as we thought, by a Constitution so wisely 
 framed that it promoted the Avelfare of each by a 
 union of all. We forgot how soon that Constitu- 
 tion might be violated by the jealousies of the States 
 that formed it, and the country become distracted 
 and divided against itself. 
 
 The man is blind indeed, who does not see in 
 the present calamities which have overtaken the 
 nation, a punishment for our sin, and that sin so 
 plainly written in our suffering that " he who runs 
 may read" it. But while under this chastisement 
 we should be penitent and humble, we see a 
 pledge of Divine favor in that we have not been 
 allowed to grow old in our iniquity, before we 
 were overtaken by the rod of coirectiou. It is 
 equally true of nations and of individuals, that 
 early chastisement is a proof of mercy in store for 
 them ; while destruction awaits those who are 
 allowed to go on unchecked, until they become 
 
Peksons and Events. 335 
 
 hardened and insensible in their guilt. As a 
 nation, we are yet in our youth. Our chastisement, 
 though severe, has come at a time when we should 
 " bear the rod, and Him who hath appointed it ;" 
 accepting it with humility, more anxious to see it 
 sanctified than to have it removed. 
 
 It is not my place to inquire into the question 
 of State Rights, or how far State authority is made 
 subordinate to the authority of the nation by our 
 Constitution. But whenever the question presents 
 itself, I love to turn to the sentiments of Wash- 
 ington and other sages of the country, when 
 treating of the subject. Almost immediately after 
 the conclusion of the Revolutionary War, the old 
 Confederation was seen to have defects which must 
 be remedied if the life of the nation was to be pre- 
 served. The great defect was, as all admitted, a 
 want of power in the national arm to enforce its 
 own authority. The necessity of a Convention to 
 prepare a Federal Constitution to meet the exigen- 
 cies of the case, was the subject of discussion and 
 correspondence among the leading men of the day ; 
 and perhaps no one gave a more full expression of 
 his views on the whole subject than General Wash- 
 
336 Recollections of 
 
 ington. His mind was filled with alarm, when he 
 saw the resistance that was made in various 
 quarters against the authority of the General Gov- 
 ernment; arid he describes, in veiy plain terms, 
 what he thought indispensable to the stability and 
 perpetuity of the Republic he had done so much 
 to establish. 
 
 " To me," he says, in a letter to James Warren, 
 " it is a solecism in politics, indeed it is one of the 
 most extraordinary things in nature, that we should 
 confederate as a nation, and yet be afraid to give 
 the rulers of that nation power to direct and order 
 the affairs of the same. By such policy as this the 
 wheels of govei-nment are clogged, and our bright- 
 est prospects, and that high expectation which was 
 entertained of us by the wondering world, are 
 turned into astonishment ; and from the high ground 
 on which we stood, we are descending into the vale 
 of confusion and darkness." 
 
 And again : " I have ever been a friend to ade- 
 quate powers in Congress, without which it is 
 evident to me we never shall establish a national 
 character, or be considered as on a respectable footing 
 by the powers of Europe. We are either a united 
 people under one head, and for federal purposes. 
 
Persons and Events. 337 
 
 or we are thirteen independent sovereignties, eter- 
 nally counteracting each other. If the former, 
 vfhatever the majority of the States, as the Consti- 
 tution points out, conceives to be for the benefit of 
 the vrhole, should, in my humble opinion, be sub- 
 mitted to by the minority. I can foresee no evil 
 greater than disunion, than these unreasonable 
 jealousies, which are continually poisoning our 
 minds, and filling them with imaginary evils for 
 the prevention of real ones." 
 
 In reply to a letter from John Jay, he writes : 
 " We have probably had too good an opinion of 
 human nature in forming our confederation. We 
 have errors to correct. Experience has taught us 
 that men will not adopt and carry into execution 
 measures the best calculated for their own good, 
 without the intervention of coercive power. I do 
 not conceive we can exist long as a nation vrithout 
 lodging somewhere a power which will pervade the 
 whole Union in as energetic a manner as the au- 
 thority of the State governments extends over the 
 several States." 
 
 Discontents, amounting to insurrection, had 
 broken out in Massachusetts, and in reply to Colo- 
 nel Lee, who had written letters to him on that 
 22 
 
338 Recollections of 
 
 subject, lie writes : " You talk, my good sir, of em- 
 ploying influence to appease the tumults in Massa- 
 chusetts. I know not where that influence is to be 
 found, or, if attainable, that it would be a proper 
 remedy for the disorders. Influence is not govern- 
 ment. Let us have a government by which our 
 lives, liberties, and properties will be secured, or 
 let us know the worst at once. There is a call for 
 decision. Know precisely what the insurgents aim 
 at. If they have real grievances, redress them, if 
 possible ; or acknowledge the justice of them, and 
 your inability to do it at the moment. If they 
 have not, employ the force of government against 
 them at once. If this is inadequate, all will be 
 convinced that the superstructure is bad, and wants 
 support. To delay one or other of these expedients, 
 is to exasperate on the one hand, or to give confi- 
 dence on the other. Let the reins of government, 
 then, be braced and held with a steady hand, and 
 every violation of the Constitution be reprehended. 
 If defective, let it be amended, but not suffered to 
 be trampled upon whilst it has an existence." 
 
 And, once more, to James Madison he writes: 
 " How melancholy is the reflection, that in so short 
 a time we should have made such large strides 
 
Persons and Events. 339 
 
 towards fulfilling the predictions of our transatlan- 
 tic foes : * Leave them to themselves, and their gov- 
 ernment will soon dissolve.' Will not the wise and 
 good strive hard to avert this evil ? Or will their 
 supineness suffer ignorance and the arts of self- 
 interested and designing, disaffected and desperate 
 characters to involve this great country in wretch- 
 edness and contempt? What stronger evidence 
 can be given of the want of energy in our govern- 
 ment than these disorders ? If there is not power 
 in it to check them, what security has a man for 
 life, liberty, or property ? To you I am sure I need 
 not add aught on the siibject. The consequences 
 of a lax or inefficient government are too obvious 
 to be dwelt upon. Thirteen sovereignties pulling 
 against each other, and all tugging at the Federal 
 head, will soon bring ruin on the whole ; whereas a 
 liberal and energetic Constitution, well checked and 
 well watched, to prevent encroachments, might 
 restore us to that degree of respectability and con- 
 seqiience to which we had the fairest prospect of 
 attaining." 
 
 No one can contemplate these anxious forebodings 
 of Washington as to the evils then threatening the 
 
340 Recollections of 
 
 ' country, and the great need of a Constitution by 
 whicli they might be remedied or prevented, without 
 learning what were his views as to State Rights, 
 and how they should be limited and controlled by 
 the National authority. He had no doubts as to 
 the right or expediency of "coercing a State" into 
 submission when it became refractory or rebellious, 
 and of doing it promptly and effectually. He was 
 more apprehensive of resistance from the States 
 against the nation than of any wrong done to the 
 States by the nation. He was evidently more afraid 
 of disintegration from Avithin than of invasion from 
 without, and was more anxious to see a bond 
 created that would prevent the nation from falling 
 into fi'agments by dissensions among the States 
 themselves, than to encompass the land with ram- 
 parts that might bid defiance to the whole world. 
 That gi'eat desire of his heart he thought was 
 accomplished when the Constitution, as prepared by 
 the Convention, was adopted by the requisite num- 
 ber of States. His views are expressed in a letter to 
 his friend J. Trumbull, in which we see exemplified 
 his solemn recognition of Divine Providence, and his 
 strong hope of future tranquillity and happiness for 
 the country. " We may," said he, " with a kind of 
 
Persons and Evexts. 341 
 
 pious and grateful exultation, trace the finger of 
 Providence through those dark and mysterious 
 events which first induced the States to appoint a 
 general Convention, and then led them, one after 
 another, by such steps as were best calculated to 
 effect the object, into an adoption of the system 
 recommended by the general Convention ; thereby, 
 in all human probability, laying a lasting founda- 
 tion for tranquillity and happiness, ^vhen we had 
 but too much reason to fear that confusion and 
 misery were coming rapidly upon us." How well 
 would it have been for us all, if those who loved to 
 speak of Washington as " first in war, first in peace, 
 and first in the hearts of his countrymen," had 
 learned to respect his well-matured judgment, and 
 to embrace his sound political views. I have some- 
 times thought that if the ashes of the dead can ever 
 be disturbed by events transpiring around them on 
 earth, how restless must be the tomb of the venera- 
 ble man, in view of the melancholy scenes of vio- 
 lence and blood that have recently been enacted 
 even within sight of Mount Vernon. No one ought 
 to doubt what part he would have taken in the 
 present collision, and how stern would have been 
 his rebuke to the misguided or corrupt men who 
 
342 Recollections of 
 
 would blot out from our flag the still illustrious 
 motto " The United States of America." Nor can 
 I doubt that in answer to his prayers, and the 
 prayers of those who shared with him in his noble 
 patriotism, the Union is again to be restored, how- 
 ever costly may be the sacrifices through which the 
 happy consummation is to be reached. The war 
 has become a contest between great resources on 
 the one hand, and great resolution on the other. 
 How long the strife may be protracted we cannot 
 foresee. But let the abundant strength of the 
 North in men and means be promptly called into 
 action and wisely directed, and it would seem the 
 final result cannot be far distant. 
 
 When viewing the calamities of our present civil 
 war, and the causes which have led to it, I love to 
 relieve, if not refresh my mind, by reverting to the 
 views held by the fathers of our Republic, as ex- 
 pressed in the above extracts from the letters of 
 Washington. Others besides myself, I presume, 
 must be gratified to contemplate the hearty expres- 
 sion of these conservative sentiments from one so 
 capable of judging as to what is essential in a 
 Federal Union, that shall either preserve the life 
 
Persons and Events. 343 
 
 of the Commonwealth, or give it strength and emi- 
 nence among the nations of the earth. I enter no 
 further into the political discussion of the great 
 question of our day than simply to record the 
 deliberate views of a man whom all delight to 
 honor. 
 
 But there are moral considerations connected 
 with the present aspect of aflPairs which should be 
 carefully weighed. The peace of the nation must 
 always be liable to frequent disturbance if they 
 are neglected. 
 
 It should never be forgotten that the continuance 
 of peaceful government in our country depends 
 greatly, if not mainly, on the good will of the peo- 
 ple towards each other. The national compact was 
 founded on principles of concession and compromise, 
 and can be preserved in harmony only by a spirit 
 of mutual forbearance. In this spirit did the lead- 
 ing men of the Convention frame our Constitution. 
 Washington himself tells us, " Nor am I such an 
 enthusiastic patriot, or indiscriminating admirer of 
 it, as not to perceive that it is tinctured with some 
 real though not radical defects." It Avas the best 
 thing that could be done at the time, in which, as 
 
344 ' Recollections of 
 
 he said, one part of the country yielded " to the 
 circumstances and prejudices" of others. When 
 Dr. Franklin arose to move that the Constitution as 
 adopted should be signed by the members, he said : 
 " I confess that there are several parts of it which I 
 do not at present approve, but I am not sure I shall 
 never approve them. The opinions I have had of 
 its errors I sacrifice to the public good." And it is 
 only by this spirit of conciliation and selfdenial 
 that the future peace of the country can be pre- 
 served. We must learn to treat with respect and 
 kindness, not only the rights and privileges, but 
 the feelings, sympathies, and even prejudices of each 
 other. 
 
 There has been a lamentable want of this senti- 
 ment in the public mind for years past, especially 
 in our halls of legislation ; and on subjects of na- 
 tional interest there has been a temper of harsh and 
 fierce proscription on one side, and ostentatious 
 arrogance on the other, that have created sad fore- 
 bodings of evil to come, and have aggravated the 
 evil after it came. When I have sometimes listened 
 to public debates, I have been reminded of the 
 words, " whose tongue is a sharp sword," for it 
 often cuts asunder the strongest and most sacred 
 
Persons and Events. 345 
 
 ties that can bind man to man or State to State- 
 Bitter words lead to blows, and blows that often 
 end in blood. 
 
 This spirit must be chected and changed if we 
 are ever to have a country truly and permanently 
 united. If we had peace to-morrow between North 
 and South — were both past and present causes of 
 division and irritation finally settled — there are other 
 questions to arise that will again lead to strife, if 
 not bloodshed, unless they are met with feelings of 
 mutual good-will and concession. In a temtory so 
 vast as ours, and with inhabitants pursuing occu- 
 pations and having interests so diverse, perhaps 
 conflicting, causes of dissent must be constantly de- 
 veloping themselves. Were we under a despotism, 
 no political convulsions might be expected to arise 
 from such sources; for in such a government the 
 will of one man must be the will of all. But in a 
 republic it is not so. Here the people are the 
 sovereigns, and the sovereignty belongs as much to 
 one section of the country as to another; and on 
 questions affecting public welfare, they must give 
 as well as take ; they must yield as well as require. 
 In other words, the spirit of Christianity must be the 
 spirit of a republic, if it would enjoy peace as well 
 
346 Recollections of 
 
 as prosperity. "Put on, therefore," says Paul, 
 "kindness, humbleness of mind, meekness, long- 
 suffering, forbearing one another, and forgiving one 
 another, if any man have a quarrel against any. 
 Even as Christ forgave you, so also do ye. And 
 above all these things, put on charity, which is the 
 bond of perfectness." I believe it is becoming more 
 and more the opinion of reflecting men, that a 
 government embodying such universal freedom and 
 equality as ours cannot subsist long, unless the 
 masses of the people become leavened with the 
 gi-eat principles of true religion. The really con- 
 servative party, if party it must be called, is com- 
 posed of those throughout the land who have the 
 spirit and bear the name of sincere Christians ; and 
 our best hope for the future lies in that strong hold 
 which religion has upon the conscience of our na- 
 tion. It is bounded by no geographical limits — ^it 
 is found north and south, east and west ; and I have 
 no doubt that when the reunion, now hoped for 
 and prayed for, shall be effected, the most active 
 and leading friends of the measure will be found 
 among those who are governed by the great princi- 
 ples of the Christian faith. 
 In the next place, though we have no established 
 
Persons and Events. 347 
 
 church in our country — Church and State being en- 
 tirely distinct from each other, politically speaking 
 — ^there is no nation in which civil affairs are more 
 influenced by the prevailing sentiment of the Chris- 
 tian community. We have no test oaths as a quali- 
 fication for office, nor do we need them ; but let a 
 man become a reviler of religion, and he will soon 
 find that he has established a test against himself. 
 There is a public sentiment, created by a wide- 
 spread regard for the great truths of revelation, that 
 wiU not brook a scoffer or tolerate him as a civil 
 ruler. There may have been exceptions to this, but 
 the feeling itself is becoming stronger and stronger. 
 But while we should rejoice to see the growing 
 prevalence of this sentiment, it lays on the Chris- 
 tian community a heavy responsibility as to the 
 civil welfare of the nation. When the memorable 
 secession of the Methodist churches in the slave 
 States occurred, in 1844, Mr. Calhoun is said to have 
 remarked, " that is the most efficient step yet taken 
 to divide the South from the North." He was 
 right. He knew the numbers and strength of the 
 Methodist denomination in the South, and when he 
 saw them openly withdrawing from the North, and 
 forming an independent ecclesiastical organization, 
 
348 Recollections of 
 
 he saw plainly how it would promote the purpose 
 of those who were laying their plans for a Southern 
 civil Confederacy. There is no country in which 
 ecclesiastical disruption, especially if marked by 
 geographical lines, can do more to affect public 
 tranquillity than in the United States. And if the 
 cause of secession in the South has been aided by 
 corresponding action taken too promptly by tbe 
 higher courts of different religious denominations, 
 let us hope they will lead the way in healing the 
 breach and restoring the Union, which was so long 
 a blessing to both Church and State. 
 
 And once more : the earliest fitting opportunity 
 should be embraced to embody in our Constitution 
 a solemn and express acknowledgment of the Most 
 High God as " Governor among the nations." In 
 the stronof lanofuasre of a stronor man, " Let the taint 
 of Atheism be removed from that all-important 
 document." It cannot be said that such an enact- 
 ment would be inconsistent with the great princi- 
 ple of religious freedom, which is so interwoven 
 with all our institutions, both in Church and in 
 State. Nor can any man complain of it as a viola- 
 tion of his conscience. In all communities there are 
 men of extreme and morbid antipathies to every 
 
Persons and Events. 349 
 
 thing sacred. But we do not tliinlv of abolishing 
 the use of the oath in our courts of justice, or the 
 observance of a weekly day of rest, in order to 
 please them. Such men must be allowed to stand 
 by themselves. Fortunately for public welfare, 
 they foim a small minority. The man who denies 
 the being of a God and His government over the 
 affairs of men, should be viewed as among the 
 worst of this class. He is morally insane. We are 
 told, " the fool hath said in his heart, There is no 
 Grod ;" and none but the fool, or he that is void of 
 understanding, would say it ; and even he says it 
 only " in his heart" — ^rather wishes it to be so 
 than believes that it is so. Laws and enactments 
 are not made to correspond with the wishes of such 
 men, but with the sober judgment of those who 
 compose the strength and majority of the people. 
 
 There can be no difficulty in framing an article 
 in which all would gladly unite, who acknowledge 
 the just and supreme authority of the Most High 
 God. The doubts and apprehensions entertained 
 by some good men, as to the proposed alteration, 
 seem to arise from a misapprehension of what is 
 contemplated by at least a majority of those who 
 advocate it. There is no thought of incorporating 
 
350 Recollections of 
 
 in it any thing wHcli would touch on points now 
 dividing one religious denomination from another. 
 Nor do I believe there would be in the end much 
 diversity of opinion on the question, if it is kept 
 before the public mind in calm and conscientious 
 discussion, and is made a subject of prayer that 
 God would give us, as a nation, wisdom and 
 direction to act, in all things, as will best honor 
 His name and promote the public welfare. 
 
 Should such a spirit pervade and animate the 
 American people, it would be the best pledge of a 
 future before us more glorious than we have ever 
 yet seen. There would be every thing to encourage 
 us. We can find fresh ground for hope of coming 
 prosperity and greatness, both in the land given to 
 us as our heritage and in the character of its in- 
 habitants. Besides a fruitful soil, yielding every 
 variety of remuneration to the hand of the indus- 
 trious husbandman, exhaustless mines of mineral 
 wealth are daily discovered in regions heretofore 
 considered as irredeemable wastes, doomed to per- 
 petual barrenness. The proverb of the ancients, 
 " He shall dip his foot in oil," denoting the greatest 
 abundance of riches, we see literally fulfilled at our 
 
Persons and Events. 351 
 
 doors. And if the words of the patriarch, " Thj 
 shoes shall be iron and brass," express strength, 
 brightened and displayed by collision encountered 
 in the way, do we not see the prediction accom- 
 plished, in the brilliant and enduring qualities of 
 our people, cultivated and brought to light in our 
 present national struggle? The severe discipline 
 through which we are now passing, is developing 
 features of public spirit which few among us were 
 inclined to expect. We have examples of high 
 patriotism, not simply here and there among a select 
 few of elevated rank, but pervading the masses of 
 our people, that would have done honor to the best 
 citizens of Rome in her most palmy days. A sor- 
 rowing father, as he bowed over the wasted form of 
 his son, in one of our military hospitals, was asked 
 by the attending surgeon, " Is this your only son ?" 
 and the reply was, " No sir ; I have had three sons. 
 One has already offered up his life for his country ; 
 and if this should be taken from me, I have still 
 another, whom I will send in his place." Noble 
 and elevated as the sentiment was, we have thou- 
 sands of fathers who would repeat it under the same 
 circumstances; and thus 'we have such armies of 
 volunteers as are unknown in the history of na» 
 
352 Recollections of 
 
 tions — ranks filled with men who have left home 
 and all the comforts of an happy home behind them, 
 to encounter the dangers and privations of bloody 
 war, actuated by the high motive to preserve the 
 life of the nation in this day of her fiery trial. If 
 we should ever forget such men and their services, 
 we should little deserve the peace and prosperity 
 for which we are looking, and must one day suffer 
 rebuke for our ingratitude. 
 
 Nor is it only among those who are bearing arms 
 in our behalf that this spirit of patriotism is 
 exemplified. There is abroad throughout the land 
 a feeling of large benevolence, of active sympathy 
 with those who are perilling their lives in its de- 
 fence, which has reached the highest as well as the 
 lowest of our citizens. The rich give of their abun- 
 dance, and even the widow is ready with her mite. 
 Especially is this elevated, true-hearted generosity 
 displayed among the women of our country, and 
 thus it becomes more than ever a sign of our times 
 full of promise ; for let our women minister at this 
 altar, and relieve suffering as they only can relieve 
 it, and they will carry with them to the firesides 
 and nurseries of the nation a spirit that will train 
 future generations for a devotion to the public good, 
 
Persons and Events. 353 
 
 in which they may perhaps excel the deeds of their 
 fathers. 
 
 To all this affluence of physical resources, and to 
 this high spirit of patriotism and wide-spread 
 benevolence, let us add a due acknowledgment of 
 " the Father of lights, from whom cometh down 
 every good and perfect gift," and who can fitly de- 
 scribe the bright destiny that awaits the nation ? 
 
 God save the Republic ! I do not utter it as a 
 thoughtless exclamation, but as a sincere and solemn 
 prayer to Him who " maketh Avars to cease unto the 
 end of the earth," that He would rescue our beloved 
 country from the conflict through which she is now 
 made to pass; that he would change the hearts 
 of our enemies, and restore to them and to us a 
 Union, which produced in former years such abun- 
 dance of blessings to their ancestors and ours. 
 
 " Our fathers — where are they ?" Is not their 
 
 spirit to be found yet surviving among those who 
 
 are now in array against us ? — Rutledge, Marion, 
 
 Laurens, Pinckney, Madison, Jefferson, Franklin, 
 
 Clinton, Schuyler, Hamilton, Adams, and, above 
 
 all, Washington, are illustrious names, belonging as 
 
 much to one section of the country as another. 
 23 
 
354 Recollections. 
 
 They are the common heritage of the whole United 
 States. Why should parricidal hands arise to 
 tarnish the fair fame of the men who labored to 
 establish a government that has long been the 
 admiration of other nations, and to which thou- 
 sands and thousands are still flying as an asylum 
 from oppression? 
 
 Here it has been my privilege to have my home 
 during my whole life, and here my last ashes are 
 to rest in hope of a blessed resurrection. Let me 
 still cherish the belief that before my " appointed 
 time" shall come, I shall be permitted to see the 
 Stars and Stripes again waving over the entire land, 
 united in feeling, in interests, as well as in name. 
 
INDEX. 
 
 A. 
 
 Abe EL, Rev. Dr., sketch of his character, pp. . . 19, 20 
 
 Adams, John Quinct, his death, p 11 V 
 
 his undeviating integrity . . 118 
 refusal to employ the power of 
 office to reward political par- 
 tisans, p. . . . . 118 
 respect for the Christian Sab- 
 bath, p 120 
 
 his affectionate regard for the 
 
 memory of his mother, p. . 122 
 
 his social character, p. . . 122 
 
 meeting with Albert Gallatin and 
 
 others, p 123 
 
 his views of a mother's influence 
 in forming the characters of 
 distinguished men, p. . ■ 123 
 
 Address o-f Rev. Dr. Milnor at inauguration of Professors 
 
 of New York University, pp. . . .208-214 
 of Chancellor on same occasion, pp. . . . 215-229 
 of Convention on behalf of American Bible 
 
 Society, pp 134-144 
 
 response of the country to, pp. . . . 144 
 
 Africa must be Christianized mainly by Africans — ^^how 
 
 the work can be aided from America, pp. . . 171, 172 
 
356 
 
 IXDEX. 
 
 Alexander, Rev. Dr., his views on the want of churches 
 
 in our city, pp. ... 281, 282 
 
 American Bible Society formed by a Convention in 
 
 1815, p 134 
 
 American Board of Commissioners for Foreign 
 
 Missions formed in 1810, p. . . 158 
 
 American Revolution, leading actors in, who have now 
 
 disappeared, pp. . . . 265, 266 
 Anglo-Saxon Race compared with other races as to its 
 physical qualities and its remarkable 
 increase and spread, pp. . . 152—154 
 
 B. 
 
 Battery, the, how changed, p 261 
 
 Bible, the, cumulative evidence of its truth, pp. . . 83, 84 
 first book issued from a printing-press, p. . . 147 
 
 Bibles, multiplication of since the formation of Bible 
 
 Societies, p. ...... . 146 
 
 Bible Societies, era of, p. . . . . . 13] 
 
 incident relating to the formation of 
 the British and Foreign Bible So- 
 ciety, p 132 
 
 imaginary objections against the for- 
 mation of a National Bible Society 
 in this country, p. ... 133 
 
 incidental benefits from societies for 
 circulating the Scriptures without 
 note or comment, as new proof of 
 self-e\-idencing power of God's 
 Word ; influence in uniting Chris- 
 tians of different denominations, pp. 144-256 
 BissBTT, Rev. Dr., anecdote of, p. . . . . 57 
 
Index. 357 
 
 BoLiNGBHOKE, Lord, anecdote of, p 79 
 
 BouDiNOT, Hon. E., his exertions and influence in 
 
 forming the American Bible Society, p. . 133 
 
 Burr, Aaron, results of his duel with Gen. Hamilton, p. 86 
 ■ interest felt on his behalf as the son of 
 
 Christian parents, p. . . . , 87 
 
 requested to visit him, p. . . . 88 
 
 his courteous manner ; hia colloquial 
 
 powers, p. .... . 88 
 
 surprise at the sympathy entertained on 
 
 his account, p. .... . 90 
 
 freedom of our interview, p. . . . 92 
 
 avows his faith in the truth of the Bible, p. 92 
 
 emotion wheit reminded of his mother, p. 93 
 increased agitation when reminded of his 
 
 daughter, p. .... . 94 
 
 views of his exclusion from his former 
 
 associations, pp. . . . . 96, 98 
 
 his despondency, p. , . . . 90 
 
 his request when we parted, p. . • 100 
 
 his death, p. 101 
 
 impressive lesson taught by the reverses 
 
 of his life, p. 102 
 
 c. 
 
 Calvin's Ixstitutes, Bolingbroke's opinion of, p. . 78 
 Chancellorship of New York University, when elected 
 to ; "perplexities on the question of ac- 
 ceptance, pp 204, 205 
 
 Charter of University obtained, p 204 
 
 Chinese, their residence in this country a means of 
 
 Christianizing their own, pp. . . • 172-175 
 
 Church, Dr., anecdote of, p ' ' 
 
 CncRCHES OF New York, changes in their location, p. 260 
 
358 Index. 
 
 Churches of New York, removal from lower part of 
 
 the city, pp. . . . 266-269 
 this practice carried too 
 
 far, p 271 
 
 evils to be apprehended from 
 
 it, p 272 
 
 reasons which may justify 
 the removal of a church, 
 
 pp 273,274 
 
 always to be done cau- 
 tiously, p. . . . 274 
 duty of Christians in this city 
 in reference to the reli- 
 gious destitution in the 
 lower wards, pp. . . 274, 275 
 number of churches in the 
 whole city ; inadequacy to 
 meet the wants of the 
 population, pp. . . 266, 267 
 the evil constantly increas- 
 ing, pp 277, 279 
 
 Cities, influence of, on the religious condition of a 
 
 country, p 282 
 
 regard had to this in the first spread of the 
 
 Gospel by the Apostles, p 288 
 
 increased importance of this consideration from 
 the growing numerical strength of cities at 
 
 the present day, pp 270-291 
 
 Clay, Henry, fond recollections of his mother, p. . 124 
 
 Clergy of New York in 1810, pp 17-29 
 
 Clinton, De Witt, sketch of, p. . . . . . 68 
 
 his ancestry, p. . . . . 58 
 
 credit due to him for the Erie 
 
 Canal, p 69 
 
Index. 359 
 
 Clinton, Db Witt, his opinion of Calvin as a reformer ; 
 of President Edwards as a logi- 
 cian ; of the clergy generally, as 
 an intellectual class, pp. . . 78,70 
 his opinion of divines in England and 
 
 America, p 80 
 
 College life, danger to young men, pp. . . . 30-37 
 College officers, their responsibility respecting the 
 
 habits of their students, p. . . 38 
 
 Confederation, old, its great defects, p. . . . 335 
 
 Convention which adopted the Constitution ; serious 
 collisions of opinion on the subject of 
 how the United States Senate should be 
 
 organized, pp 311-317 
 
 Dr. Franklin's influence in, p. . . . 317 
 
 mistaken account of their action in refer- 
 ence to daily prayers, pp. . . . 321-323 
 a true statement of what occurred, p. . 325 
 
 Conversion of the heathen a duty not properly 
 
 appreciated by our 
 churches in the early 
 part of the present 
 century, pp. . . 160, 161 
 to be mainly eflfected 
 by native laborers, p. 179 
 
 Country, our own, encouraging prospects of, pp. . . 350-353 
 Crisis of the country when the Constitution was 
 
 adopted, p 330 
 
 D. 
 
 Dangers to public men from accumulated labors, pp. . 256-253 
 Denominations, religious, comparative growth of, in New 
 
 York during last fifty years, pp. . . 280, 281 
 
360 Index. 
 
 E. 
 
 Electkicitt to be made further subservient to the use 
 
 of man, p. 247 
 
 Emmet, Thomas A., his eloquent defence of Fulton and 
 
 his rights, pp. .... 49-52 
 
 English language, its remarkable spread ; displacing 
 
 other languages, pp. . . . 154, 155 
 
 influence of those speaking it on 
 the future destinies- of the world, 
 pp. ...... 155, 156 
 
 English tkanslation op the Scriptures, its acknowl- 
 edged excellence, p. . . . 150 
 
 its influence on modem transla- 
 tions into foreign languages, p. . 150 
 Erie canal, influence of De Witt Clinton in carrying 
 
 ont the project, p. . . . . 69 
 
 Evangelical Chkistianitt generally embraced by ed- 
 ucated men when they ' 
 abandon infidelity ; causes 
 of, pp 76, 77 
 
 F. 
 
 Federal Constitution, its origin, and the reasons which 
 
 called for it, pp. . . . 335, 336 
 Female Society, its happy influence on young men 
 
 when rightly directed, pp. . . 39, 40 
 Foreign Missions, former apathy of the churches re- 
 specting, p. . . . . 158 
 enlarged scale on which they are 
 now conducted by our churches, 
 pp 163, 164 
 
Lneex. 361 
 
 Foreign missions, peculiar responsibilities of American 
 churches Id relation to, arising out 
 of our geographical position, pp. 164-1C6 
 hopes of Edwards, Davies, and 
 
 others respecting, p. . . . 176 
 
 FoRGETFULNESs OF GoD a besetting sin of our nation, pp, 331-333 
 Franklin, his speech on the subject of daily prayers in 
 
 the Federal Convention, p. . . . 327 
 
 his opinion of defects in the Constitution, p. 342 
 
 Fulton, Robert, his habits in social life, p. . . . 49 
 
 slow progress of his first boat on her 
 
 voyage to Albany, pp. . . . 43, 44 
 
 little confidence of the public in his 
 
 success, p. .... . 44 
 
 incident showing his own anxiety in his 
 first experiments in steam naviga- 
 tion, pp. ..... 44-47 
 
 an example of the injustice generally 
 
 done to projectors and inventors, pp. 47-49 
 
 G. 
 
 GrALLATiN, Hou. Albert, sketch of, p. . . . . 251 
 
 God, duty of acknowledging His existence and authority 
 
 in our Constitution, pp. ..... 349, 340 
 
 Good-will of the people towards each other essential 
 
 to peaceful government in our country, p. . 343 
 
 Great men in our day, p . 67 
 
 Hall. Rev. Dr., anecdote respecting, pp. . . . 24. 25 
 Hamilton, General Alexander, interview with Rev. Dr. 
 
 Rodgers, p. . . . . . . 310 
 
362 I«DEx. 
 
 HoBART, Bishop, sketch of his character, pp. . 20, S!l 
 
 Hooker, his opinion of Calvin, p. . . . . 81 
 
 HuDSOK BiVBR the cradle of steam navigation, p. . . 41 
 
 Immigration does not endanger our institutions if we 
 are faithful to our duty ; furnishes in- 
 creased facilities for the spread of reli- 
 gion, pp . 166-169 
 
 Indians, little done for their conversion in the early part 
 
 of the present century, p. . . . . 150 
 
 J. 
 
 Jefferson, Thomas, his refusal to bestow appaintments 
 
 to office as the reward of party services, p. 119 
 
 K. 
 
 Kent, Hon. James, his reputation as a jurist, pp. . . 70, 76 
 
 L. 
 
 Lewis Morgan, Chief Justice, sketch of, p. . . . 252 
 
 LiterIry Convention, meeting of in New York; called 
 to consider the plan and object 
 contemplated by the Univer- 
 sity, p. .... 1 94 
 address to the Convention, p. . 195 
 value of its deliberations, p. . 204 
 
Index. 363 
 
 Livingston, Rev. Dr., sketch of his character, pp. . 17,19 
 
 Luke, why called -the beloved physician, p. . . . 181 
 
 M. 
 
 Mason, Rev. Dr. J. M., sketch of his character, pp. . 25-29 
 his occasional depression of 
 spirits ; sensitiveness to kind- 
 ness or unkindness from those 
 around him, pp. . . .54, 55 
 an evening with him, p. . . 5^ 
 
 anecdotes he related respecting 
 I Gouverneur Morris, Bishop 
 
 Moore, Dr. Livingston, Dr. 
 Bissett, Dr. Witherspoon, Dr. 
 Franklin, Mr. Whitfield, pp. . 50-61 * 
 comparison of Mason with 
 "Whitfield ; chief point of dif- 
 ference between the two as 
 preachers, pp. . . . 61-63 
 Lis talents as an expositor, p. . 63 
 
 Maternal influence on the minds of children, pp. . 129,130 
 Meade, Bishop, his description of the melancholy state 
 
 of religion from 1805 to 1812, p. ... 158 
 
 Medical profession, instrumentality of, in the spread 
 
 of the Gospel, p. . . . 178 
 
 gifts of healing bestowed by our 
 
 Lord, their significance, p. . 179 
 and' influence, p. . . . 180 
 Medical students, peculiar dangers to their moral wel- 
 fare, p 184 
 
 duties of Christians respecting 
 
 them, p 1 80 
 
364 Index. 
 
 Miller, Rev. Dr., sketch of his character, pp. . . 21,22 
 MiLNOR, Rev. Dr., sketch of his character, p. . . 253 
 
 Missionaries, Foreign, should be specially educated for 
 
 their work, pp. . . . 176, 177 
 
 often victims to the necessity of 
 undertaking labors beyond 
 their strength, pp. . . 181-183 
 
 duty of giving them relief, p. . 184 
 
 MooRE, Benjamis, Right Rev., sketch of his char- 
 acter, p. .... . 20 
 
 anecdote of, p. . . . 56 
 
 .Morris, GoL•vER^fEUR, anecdote of, p. . . . . 56 
 
 Morrison, Rev. Dr., his instrumentality in awakening a 
 zeal for foreign missions in our country when 
 on his way to China ; his services in transla- 
 ting the Scriptures into the Chinese lan- 
 guage, pp. 161-103 
 
 Morse, Professor, his success in the invention of the 
 
 telegraph, and his well-merited reward, pp. . 52-53 
 McLeod, Rev. Dr., sketch of his character, pp. . . 24-28 
 McMuRRAv, Rev. Dr., sketch of his character, p. . 263 
 
 IS. 
 
 Napoleon, happy influence of the Empress Josephine 
 
 upon him, p. ..... . 40 
 
 Xew York, her peculiar responsibilities as to the reli- 
 gious welfare of our country, p. . . 292 
 dangers to ourselves from our position as a 
 
 commercial metropolis, p. . . . 294 
 
 advantages for the site of a Univer- 
 sity, pp. . ...... 248-251 
 
Index. 365 
 
 P. 
 
 Parks of New York, changes in the, pp. . . . 260, 201 
 
 Patriotism, as developed in our present national strug- 
 gle, pp 351, .152 
 
 Physician, the attainments and qualifications desirable 
 
 for, pp 160-158 
 
 Population of New York compafed with that of other 
 
 cities, pp. 259, 200 
 
 Prayers, daily, proposed in Federal Convention, p. . 320 
 
 Prikting, art of, improvement in, as auxiliary, to the 
 
 spread of the Bible, pp. .... 148,149 
 
 Public buildings, changes in, p. . . . . 202 
 
 R. 
 
 PkELiGiON, declension of, after the days of Edwards and 
 
 Whitfield, p 157 
 
 change in the sentiments of the educated 
 
 classes respecting it, pp. . . . . 71,72 
 
 causes of the change, p. . . . . 7 
 
 improved education of the clergy, p. . . 73 
 
 auspicious influence of free intercourse be- 
 tween the clergy and men of other pro- 
 fessions, pp. . . . . . . 74, 75 
 
 infidelity unmasking itself, p. . . . 7C 
 
 Religious sentiment of the countrj- ; its influence on 
 
 civil affairs, pp 346-348 
 
 Representative Government, principles of, developed 
 
 in the Hebrew Commonwealth, p. . 82 
 
 Resignation of Chancellorship, letter to the Council 
 
 tendering it, p. . 236 
 
 'action of the Council 
 
 on the same, pp. . 239-241 
 
366 
 
 Index. 
 
 Responsibilities of merchants and other employers in 
 cities on behalf of young men in their 
 employ, pp. ..... 113, 114 
 
 RoDGERS,*Rev. Dr., remarks upon the Constitution, pp. 310, 311 
 Roman tribute to a mother's influence, p. . . . 125 
 
 Rutgers, Col. Henry, his death at an advanced age, p. 103 
 
 devoted patriotism, p. . . 104 
 
 his liberality to all objects of 
 
 benevolence, p. . . . 104 
 
 impressive instance of his wis- 
 dom in the bestowment of his 
 charities, pp. . . . 105-111 
 
 his kind response to Dr. J. H. 
 
 Rice, p. .... 114 
 
 s. 
 
 Scriptural illustrations of a mother's influence upon 
 
 her sons, pp. . . . 126-128 
 
 Streets of New York, changes in, p. . . . 262 
 
 Sunday-schoole, their happy influence, and claims on 
 
 our co-operation, p. . . . . 298 
 
 T. 
 
 Tallmadge, General James, sketch of, p. 
 
 252 
 
 u. 
 
 University of the City of New York, considerations 
 
 which led to the establishment of, pp. 189-191 
 first meeting held on the subject, p. . . J 92 
 
 founders of; their comprehensive designs 
 
 in creating it, p. . . . . . 242 
 
Index. 367 
 
 TJnivkrsitt of thk Citt of New York, adaptation of 
 its design to the wants of the nation 
 and of the age, pp 243-247 
 
 importance of New York as the site of 
 
 such an institution, pp. . . .248-251 
 
 officers of Council and Chancellor 
 
 chosen, p 204 
 
 professors inaugurated and institution 
 
 opened for reception of pupils, pp. , 207-229 
 
 building erected, p. . . . . 230 
 
 additional professors and increased num- 
 ber of students, pp 23,231 
 
 harmonious working of various Depart- 
 ments, p 231 
 
 appropriation granted by the State, and 
 
 reasons inducing it, p. . . . 231 
 
 its seasonableness at the time it was 
 
 given, p 232 
 
 Van Rensselaer, Hon. Stephen, his salutary influence 
 and liberality on behalf of measures 
 for the public welfare, pp. . . 69, 70 
 
 Van Vechten, Abraham, sketch of, p. . . . 71 
 
 W. 
 
 "Wainwright, Bishop, sketch of, p. . . . . 254 
 
 Washington, General, inauguration of as President of 
 the United States in old 
 Federal Hall, pp. . . . 263, 2Gt 
 
368 IxDEx. 
 
 Washingtok, General, his views of State rights, pp. . 235-239 
 his fears of a disruption of the 
 Union from the resistance of 
 the States to the authority 
 of the General Govern- 
 ment, pp 338, 339 
 
 his opinion of defects in tlic: 
 
 Constitution, p. . . . 330 
 
 his respect for the judgment of 
 his wife in matters of impor- 
 tance, p. . . . . 40 
 
 Wealth, the responsibilities it creates, and how to be 
 used to the best advantage both of the pos- 
 sessor and his descendants, pp. . . . 299-306 
 
 Whitfield, anecdote of, pp. ..... 60, 61 
 
 source of his power as a preacher, pp. . 60-62 
 
 WiTHERSPOON, Rev. Dr., anccdotc of, pp. . . . 57-59